Meet the Republican presidential candidate who hasn't held a single campaign event
Jim Gilmore's latest poll numbers are at 0.0 percent, but he's not worried. Even though presidential candidates must "average 1 percent in three major national polls" to appear in the televised debates, The Washington Post reports that the former governor of Virginia and 2016 Republican hopeful simply shrugs off the requirement as unfair. "I'm just going to tell you straight up, okay? I think that these standards of poll numbers are ridiculous," Gilmore told The Post. He doesn't think that polls this early "capture which candidates are truly substantive."
Gilmore's attitude toward the polls is just one of many examples of him simply refusing to play the game. As The Washington Post points out, so far, Gilmore's 'campaign' has included: "No handshakes in Iowa. No rallies in New Hampshire. Nothing. Gilmore didn't even meet anyone at his kickoff rally — there was no kickoff rally. Just a video of Gilmore, speaking to the camera alone."
Gilmore hasn't purchased any television ads and it took him a month after announcing to open headquarters. The latest "appearance" Gilmore claimed to have made was actually just a party hosted by the Virginia Federation of Republican Women "to raise money for elephant conservation," The Washington Post reports.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Even Donald Trump couldn't think of an insult when asked about Gilmore by a New York Times columnist. All Trump could say was, "Him, I don't know."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Should TV adverts reflect the nation?Talking Point Reform MP Sarah Pochin’s controversial comments on black and Asian actors in adverts expose a real divide on race and representation
-
Crossword: November 1, 2025The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
Sudoku medium: November 1, 2025The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
-
Senate votes to kill Trump’s Brazil tariffSpeed Read Five Senate Republicans joined the Democrats in rebuking Trump’s import tax
-
Border Patrol gets scrutiny in court, gains power in ICESpeed Read Half of the new ICE directors are reportedly from DHS’s more aggressive Customs and Border Protection branch
-
Shutdown stalemate nears key pain pointsSpeed Read A federal employee union called for the Democrats to to stand down four weeks into the government standoff
-
Trump vows new tariffs on Canada over Reagan adspeed read The ad that offended the president has Ronald Reagan explaining why import taxes hurt the economy
-
NY attorney general asks public for ICE raid footageSpeed Read Rep. Dan Goldman claims ICE wrongly detained four US citizens in the Canal Street raid and held them for a whole day without charges
-
Trump’s huge ballroom to replace razed East WingSpeed Read The White House’s east wing is being torn down amid ballroom construction
-
Trump expands boat strikes to Pacific, killing 5 moreSpeed Read The US military destroyed two more alleged drug smuggling boats in international waters
-
Trump demands millions from his administrationSpeed Read The president has requested $230 million in compensation from the Justice Department for previous federal investigations