Jim Gilmore says if elected, he'll take on the VA

Jim Gilmore explained during the Fox News undercard debate Thursday why it's been so long since he's been at a debate, town hall, or anywhere else visible.

"I have been in Iowa, but this is not the place where I'm choosing to begin my campaign," he said. Instead, he's going to focus on New Hampshire, because of the way early voting goes down there. He swiftly changed the topic away from his lack of exposure to the fact that he's the only veteran in the race. "I'm not going to any Donald Trump event over across town on some sort of faux veteran issue," he said, minutes after Rick Santorum admitted that after the debate, he was going to attend Trump's special event at Drake University to benefit veterans.

Gilmore said he was ready to tackle an issue that "really confronts veterans — the concerns they've got about the Veterans Administration, and the lousy appeals process they've got, how sometimes they get good services and sometimes they don't, how post-traumatic stress disorder is not properly recognized." Gilmore, a former governor of Virginia, said that when he becomes president, "veterans are going to be treated with respect and competently."

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