Republican presidential candidate Tom Tancredo says he doesn’t care that he’s been accused of being a "one trick pony."

Tancredo’s signature issue is illegal immigration. A recent poll commissioned by the American Hospital Association showed just about a quarter of likely Iowa Republican Caucus-goers say it’s the issue they’d most like to quiz the candidates about, but Tancredo lags in the polls. He recently appeared in Waverly at the same time as Democrat Hillary Clinton. Tancredo drew a crowd of eight, while over 800 gathered to see Clinton.

"I chose to run for president of the United States recognizing that, you know, I would be on that second tier and probably there for a long time and recognizing that the odds are very, very long against my being president of the United States," Tancredo says.

The last congressman to leave the U.S. House and become president was Gerald Ford, but he wasn’t elected. Richard Nixon asked Ford to leave congress and serve as his vice president. When Nixon resigned, Ford became president. America has never elected a member of the U.S. House as president. Tancredo concedes history is against him and his campaign is likely a cause rather than a pathway to the White House.

"While I’m here doing all the things that are necessary to do if you’re going to run for president, I’m going to run with all of my heart on the issues that I care about greatly and hope that, of course, they impact the rest of the field," he says.

Tancredo says he’s o.k. with being at the bottom of the second tier of candidates. "I chose to run because I am a person that believes in issues. That is what motivates me," Tancredo says. "…I ran and I am running because I do want those issues developed."

Tancredo made his comments earlier this month during a news conference in Des Moines.

 

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