Candidate Analysis: Tom Tancredo

Candidate: Tom Tancredo
Party: Republican
Political Background: U.S. Representative (CO-6)
Campaign Website: http://www.teamtancredo.com/

GOP Appeal: Anti-illegal immigration is biggest issue, taxpayer-friendly record, anti-abortion, record of cost-cutting, anti-judicial activism, anti-gay marriage, pro-national defense, supports building of new oil refineries to ease energy costs, pro-War on Drugs.

Cross-over Appeal to Dems: Advocates larger federal government than most conservatives, racial unity a key issue of Tancredo's, is persona non grata at Bush's White House, racial equality

Cons: Poor verbal communicator, somewhat of an outcast amongst many in the GOP, basically a single-issue candidate who has stated that he is more concerned with pushing his issue than anything else, supports reduction of legal immigration which alienates most GOP voters as well as Dems.

My Personal Thoughts: Tancredo is pretty much the ultimate single-issue candidate, which would be fine if his solutions to this single issue were palatable to more people. His stances against illegal immigration are favorable amongst conservatives. However, his stances against legal immigration are where he loses a lot of the support he would have from some Republicans, as most favor tougher laws against illegals, but still support and advocate for the legal immigration of people from other nations.

Also, Tancredo is a terrible public speaker as seen in the debates. While this isn't exactly a "must-have" to be an effective president, he needs to be able to clearly communicate his positions and ideas to both Congress and the American people...I don't think Tancredo does that well.

All-in-all, Tancredo is a pretty popular figure in his district and will probably reside in the House of Representatives for quite a while. However, he needs to move beyond his single issue to have any hope of earning national support for a presidential campaign.