2007

Jan. 21: On ABC's This Week With George Stephanopoulos, Gov. Bill Richardson makes his long-anticipated announcement that he'll form exploratory committee to run for president.

Feb. 16: At fundraiser at Sandia Resort & Casino, Richardson raises $2 million, mainly from New Mexico supporters. By the end of the year, he will have raised at least $5 million from New Mexicans.

Feb. 21: Richardson appears with other Democratic presidential candidates at a forum in Carson City, Nev. He calls for all hopefuls to sign a pledge not to attack one another.

March 21: After state Legislature's regular session ends, New Mexico Republicans blast Richardson for immediately calling a special session and then leaving the state to campaign for president. Critics charge he put a domestic-partnership bill on the agenda so he could talk about it that weekend at a Los Angeles event for a national gay-rights organization. The bill eventually failed to pass.

April 7: Richardson takes time off campaign to travel to North Korea to retrieve remains of American soldiers killed in the Korean War.

May 9: The campaign launches the first of a series of humorous TV commercials in Iowa and New Hampshire, in which Richardson plays a job applicant touting his experience and work ethic to a disinterested employer. The ads later are credited for an upswing in the polls there for Richardson.

May 17: As he unveils his energy plan, Richardson is hit with questions about his stock in Valero Energy Corp., valued at between $100,001 and $250,000. Richardson soon announces he has sold the stock. Also, the mother of a New Mexico Marine killed in Iraq disputes an anecdote that Richardson has repeatedly told during campaign speeches. Richardson claims his proposal to create a $250,000 death benefit for fallen New Mexico National Guard members, which the Legislature approved, came about because of a conversation he had with the mother at her son's funeral in 2004. The mother says the conversation never took place.

May 21: In Los Angeles, Richardson makes a formal announcement he is running for president, stressing his Hispanic heritage.

May 27: Richardson gets disastrous reviews for his performance after television interviewer Tim Russert grills Richardson for a full hour on Meet the Press.

June 12: In a critical profile in The New Republic, reporter Ryan Lizza points to the governor's mistakes and contradictions on the campaign trail and "a history of bad calls" in foreign policy. Lizza also describes how Richardson at a baseball game mussed the hair of a woman he didn't know.

July 26: At a campaign stop in Des Moines, Iowa, Richardson tells police and firefighters the state is on the top 10 list for potential terrorist attacks.

Aug. 9: At a televised forum sponsored by national gay-rights groups, Richardson, answering a question from lesbian rock star Melissa Etheridge, says he believes homosexuality is a choice. The governor later says he didn't mean that.

Aug. 10: Richardson spends much of the next day giving interviews to gay publications and radio shows to explain his position on gay rights. On a satellite radio interview, he makes the statement: "I'm for gay adoption. I'm for gays having relationships with undocumented workers, and I've always felt that way."

Aug. 16: One of Richardson's top organizers in rural Nevada resigns after the campaign learns he had worked for a brothel — which is legal in most of Nevada — and was wanted on a felony bad-check warrant in California.

Sept. 3: The Des Moines Register reports Richardson told an Iowa labor group that "Iowa, for good reason, for constitutional reasons, for reasons related to the Lord, should be the first caucus and primary."

Sept. 9: At a debate sponsored by Spanish-language television network Univision, Richardson is cut off by moderators when he breaks the rules by speaking Spanish. Later Richardson says, "I'm disappointed today that 43 million Latinos in this country, for them not to hear one of their own speak Spanish, is unfortunate. In other words, Univision is promoting English-only in this debate."

Oct. 4: U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., announces he won't seek a seventh term. Speculation swirls about Richardson's plans as top national Democrats pressure him to drop out of the presidential race and run for the Senate. Richardson consistently says he's not interested. Much of that talk subsides a month later when U.S. Rep. Tom Udall, D-N.M., who initially said he wouldn't run, gets in the Senate race.

Oct. 26: Richardson's second book, Leading by Example: How We Can Inspire an Energy and Security Revolution, is published.

Oct. 30: At a debate in Philadelphia, Richardson slams rivals Barrack Obama and John Edwards for attacking Hillary Clinton for her ties to lobbyists. Speculation surges that Richardson is actually seeking the vice presidency — which the governor denies.

Nov. 2: The Associated Press reports Richardson has collected campaign contributions totaling about $167,000 from New Mexico lobbyists and more than $400,000 from executives and employees of companies and organizations represented by lobbyists in the state.

Nov. 2: In a lengthy Playboy magazine interview, Richardson likens himself to Bobby Kennedy and talks about his regret that he never had children.

Nov. 15: Richardson is nominated for a Nobel Peace prize for the fifth time. He was nominated by the same Tennessee congressman who has nominated him for the prize at least twice before.

December: State employees, including some cabinet secretaries, using paid annual leave, flock to Iowa at their own expense to become "Road Runners" helping the Richardson campaign.

Dec. 14: A scathing Factcheck.org report criticizes Richardson for adding to "his string of inflated, false or dubious claims" at a candidate debate and says the governor "stands out for exaggerated and inaccurate claims." The nonpartisan watchdog Web site noted Richardson claims about "enormous progress" in New Mexico education and said he exaggerated the extent of teacher-salary increases.

Dec. 27: Shortly after the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, Richardson calls for the resignation of President Pervez Musharraf.



2008

Jan. 3: Richardson wins 2 percent of the delegates in the Iowa caucus, coming in a distant fourth, and vows to go on to New Hampshire.

Jan. 8: Richardson wins 5 percent of the vote in the New Hampshire primary, again coming in a distant fourth. Richardson vows to go on to Nevada and other Western states.

Jan. 10: Richardson withdraws from presidential race, citing poor showings in the early primaries and a lack of money.