--- title: Jim Gilmore: Former Virginia Governor Enter 2016 Presidential Race description: Former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore said he plans to announce his 2016 presidential bid in August. canonical: https://time.com/3948922/jim-gilmore-virginia-2016/ author: Jack Linshi article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-07-08T00:36:34.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:43:37.486Z article:section: Politics og:title: More People Are Running for Presidential Nomination Than Ever og:description: A 17th Republican announced he would seek the party's 2016 nod. og:url: https://time.com/3948922/jim-gilmore-virginia-2016/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt851d48d12ed8a4df/698859f9428a9e0769cce0f5/jim-gilmore-2016-presidential-virginia.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3652 og:image:height: 2054 og:image:alt: Jim Gilmore 2016 Presidential Race og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: More People Are Running for Presidential Nomination Than Ever twitter:description: A 17th Republican announced he would seek the party's 2016 nod. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt851d48d12ed8a4df/698859f9428a9e0769cce0f5/jim-gilmore-2016-presidential-virginia.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # It's Official: More People Are Running for Presidential Nomination Than Ever > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Jack Linshi](https://time.com/author/jack-linshi/)  ## Jack Linshi Jul 8, 2015 12:36 AM UTC  Former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore speaks at the First in the Nation Republican Leadership Summit on April 17, 2015, in Nashua, N.H. Former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore speaks at the First in the Nation Republican Leadership Summit on April 17, 2015, in Nashua, N.H. Darren McCollester—Getty Images  by [Jack Linshi](https://time.com/author/jack-linshi/)  ## Jack Linshi Jul 8, 2015 12:36 AM UTC It’s official: More people are running for a major party’s presidential nomination than ever. Former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore said Tuesday that he plans to announce his campaign for the 2016 Republican nomination during the first week of August, making him the 17th candidate on the GOP side. Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, [noted in a tweet](https://twitter.com/LarrySabato/status/618568209776672769) that is a record for the number of presidential candidates for a single political party. The Democratic field is much narrower, with just five candidates. Gilmore, 65, told the [Richmond ](http://www.richmond.com/news/virginia/government-politics/article%5F30b836ff-1768-5bcb-9681-f942acfb711f.html)[_Times-Dispatch_](http://www.richmond.com/news/virginia/government-politics/article%5F30b836ff-1768-5bcb-9681-f942acfb711f.html)in an interview that he believes the other GOP candidates have not addressed the nation’s national security and economic concerns. “I bring to the table experience that others don’t have,” he said. Still, he’ll likely enter the race for the nomination at the bottom of a competitive field that already faces intense fight to get into the top 10 spots to qualify for a series of televised debates that could prove crucial. Gilmore served as governor of Virginia from 1998 to 2002, during which he chaired a panel — nicknamed the Gilmore Commission — that advised Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush about domestic capabilities for terrorism involving weapons of mass destruction. He later entered the 2008 GOP presidential run, but ended his campaign after about three months, citing a lack of funding. Gilmore is currently the CEO of the Free Congress Foundation, a conservative think tank in Washington, D.C. ### Pucker Up: 15 Awkward Political Kisses  Texas Sen. Ted Cruz kisses his wife before walking onstage to speak at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., to announce his presidential candidacy on March 23. Mark Wilson—Getty Images  President Barack Obama gives German Chancellor Angela Merkel a kiss on the cheek on arrival for the G8 Summit on May 18, 2012 at Camp David, Md. Charles Dharapak—AP  Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry kisses his wife Teresa Heinz Kerry at a victory rally after the U.S. senator from Massachusetts was projected the winner in the Wisconsin primary Feb. 17, 2004 in Madison, Wisc. Chris Hondros—Getty Images  Republican presidential candidate, Texas Gov. Rick Perry kisses his wife Anita at the end of a news conference at Hyatt Place, Jan. 19, 2012 in North Charleston, S.C. Allison Joyce—Getty Images  Former Vice President Al Gore is kissed by his wife Tipper, after addressing the delegates at the Democratic National Convention on July 26, 2004, in Boston. Ron Edmonds—AP  (L-R) Republican presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, kisses his wife, Ann Romney, in front of Republican vice presidential candidate, U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) and wife, Janna Ryan, on stage after conceding the presidency during Mitt Romney's campaign election night event at the Boston Convention—Exhibition Center on Nov. 7, 2012 in Boston. Matthew Cavanaugh—Getty Images  Republican presidential candidate Texas Gov. George W. Bush kisses talk show host Oprah Winfrey on Sept. 19, 2000 after appearing on her program in Chicago. Wilfredo Lee—AP  US President Barack Obama kisses US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton after his speech about health care reform before a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, Sept. 9, 2009. Jason Reed—AFP/Getty Images  Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich kisses his wife Callista after a Republican presidential candidate debate at the Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord, N.H. on Jan. 8, 2012. Charles Krupa—AP  French President Nicolas Sarkozy, left, kisses goodbye to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on the steps of the Elysee palace after their meeting on Jan. 29, 2010 in Paris. Christophe Ena—AP  Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney gets a kiss from his wife Ann during his election night rally on Nov. 7, 2012, in Boston. David Goldman—AP  New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg kisses Muppet Miss Piggy as Kermit the Frog looks on during a news conference on April 13, 2012 in New York City. Justin Sullivan—Getty Images  Former President George W. Bush, right, kisses former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during the ground breaking ceremony for the President George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas on Nov. 16, 2010. LM Otero—AP  Republican presidential candidate, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum kisses his wife Karen before speaking to supporters at an election-night party in the gymnasium of Steubenville High School in Steubenville, Ohio on March 6, 2012. Gene J. Puskar—AP  US President George W. Bush is greeted by one of his dogs after arriving from giving the commencement speech at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, aboard Marine One on the south lawn of the White House in Washington on May, 21, 2005. Andrew Councill—AFP/Getty Images \[[Richmond _Times-Dispatch_\]](http://www.richmond.com/news/virginia/government-politics/article%5F30b836ff-1768-5bcb-9681-f942acfb711f.html) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3948922/jim-gilmore-virginia-2016/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3948922/jim-gilmore-virginia-2016/"},"headline":"It's Official: More People Are Running for Presidential Nomination Than Ever","datePublished":"2015-07-08T00:36:34.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-19T07:43:37.486Z","description":"The 17th Republican said he will announce his bid in August","url":"https://time.com/3948922/jim-gilmore-virginia-2016/","keywords":["2016 Election","2016 Election","Virginia"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt851d48d12ed8a4df/698859f9428a9e0769cce0f5/jim-gilmore-2016-presidential-virginia.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jack Linshi","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/jack-linshi/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt851d48d12ed8a4df/698859f9428a9e0769cce0f5/jim-gilmore-2016-presidential-virginia.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Jim Gilmore 2016 Presidential Race","caption":"Jim Gilmore 2016 Presidential Race","creditText":"Darren McCollester—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/2016-election/","name":"2016 Election"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3948922/jim-gilmore-virginia-2016/","name":"It's Official: More People Are Running for Presidential Nomination Than Ever"}}]}] ```