DES MOINES, IOWA (AP) -- Former House Speaker Christopher Rants has ended his bid for the Republican nomination for governor, conceding he's been unable to attract voters to a campaign that was a long shot from the beginning.
Rants issued a statement Thursday, saying the campaign has been a rewarding experience that's allowed him to travel more than 54,000 miles around Iowa. Rants, of Sioux City, previously announced he wouldn't seek another term in the House, and he says his decision to drop his bid for governor won't change that.
His decision leaves former Gov. Terry Branstad, Sioux City businessman Bob Vander Plaats and state Rep. Rod Roberts in the hunt for the GOP nomination to oppose Democratic Gov. Chet Culver.
(Copyright ©2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)