Is Richardson in or out?

After fourth-place finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire, the AP says he has decided to quit. A spokeswoman says it's not so.

Published January 10, 2008 12:56AM (EST)

When Bill Richardson finished 30 points behind the three Democratic front-runners in Iowa, he declared himself part of the "final four." When he finished fourth again in New Hampshire -- collecting just 5 percent of the vote -- he said he'd "head out west" where "the fight goes on."

He headed out west all right -- he's back home in New Mexico today -- but is the fight really going on? That's not entirely clear.

The Associated Press, citing "two people close to the governor with knowledge of the decision," is reporting that Richardson has decided to drop out of the race and will make an announcement to that effect Thursday. However, a spokeswoman for Richardson tells NBC News that no such decision has been made and that Richardson is simply taking some time to attend to official business in advance of the coming session of the New Mexico Legislature.


By Tim Grieve

Tim Grieve is a senior writer and the author of Salon's War Room blog.

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