Gephardt Quits Race, Will Run for House Seat

Rep. Richard A. Gephardt, who fell short of the “Michigan miracle” he needed to revive his candidacy, quit the race for the Democratic presidential nomination today but said “our effort was not in vain.”

Gephardt told a packed Capitol Hill news conference he would run for reelection to the House where he pledged to continue his fight for “economic justice.” He said he will file for reelection Tuesday.

Leaving the presidential race with an announcement in the Capitol, Gephardt continued the populist, anti-Establishment flavor that he used on the stump.

“I believe that our effort was not in vain--that we challenged the Democratic Party and called it back to its central role as an agent of fundamental change,” he said.

Gephardt also updated the line that became the populist slogan of his campaign, “It’s your fight too.”

‘My Fight Too’

“Whether the issue is trade or Social Security, Contra aid or the environment, tax justice or corporate responsibility, your fight will always be my fight too,” Gephardt said.

Gephardt’s candidacy limped out of the South on Super Tuesday three weeks ago, having never received the beneficial momentum he had expected from Iowa.

Gephardt had looked to Michigan’s caucuses last Saturday, figuring that auto-industry state would provide a most receptive ear for his call for trade retaliation against countries that do not open markets to U.S. products.

He asked for a “Michigan miracle.” Instead he got a distant third place finish behind Jesse Jackson and Michael Dukakis.

Won Only Home State

“It’s been said the opera isn’t over until the fat lady sings,” Gephardt said. “Last Saturday in Michigan I think I heard her walking to the microphone.”

Gephardt’s campaign blossomed in the lead-off delegate event, Iowa’s caucuses, where his tough talk on trade caught on with the state’s Democrats. He won again in South Dakota, but on Super Tuesday he failed to win anywhere other than his home state of Missouri.

In announcing that he will file for reelection to his House seat from Missouri, Gephardt said, “I hope to carry their cause as a member of Congress, and tomorrow I’m filing for reelection.”

Aides said Gephardt does not intend to try to preserve the delegates as a bloc he had already won and continuing his campaign in a suspended state.