LAKE GENEVA, Wis. (AP) – Despite lagging in the polls and with fund raising, Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback said Friday, May 11, he has no intention of packing in his quest to nab the Republican nomination for president.

“Let us conduct a campaign before people determine who the victor is in this race,” Brownback said at a news conference before speaking at the state GOP convention.

Brownback, who is staging his first nationwide campaign and said he’s been to Iowa 21 times, said he has no plans to stop now.

“I stay in the whole way,” he said. “We’re in early May of 2007. Fund raising’s picking up. I think there are significant inconsistencies with the so-called front three in our primary race and the base of the party.”

Those three – Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani and Sen. John McCain – are far ahead in the polls and fund raising. But Republican voters also have expressed an interest in finding another candidate, which has opened the door for those like Brownback and former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson, who was scheduled to appear at the convention on Saturday.

“They’re a good pairing because they’re both at about 2 percent in the polls,” said Charles Franklin, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Neither Brownback nor Thompson is bringing in much money. In the first quarter of the year, Brownback raised $2 million, while Thompson collected just under $400,000. Romney, the top fund-raiser, raised $23 million.

Both Brownback and Thompson have the potential to break out of the pack, but it won’t be easy, Franklin said.

The biggest problem for both is credibility, he said. People have to believe they can be president, and neither of them has achieved that yet, he said.

A test for Brownback, Thompson and other GOP hopefuls will come in August when the Iowa Republican Party conducts a high-profile straw poll that raises money for the party and tests candidates’ organizational strengths.

Thompson has said his campaign hinges on a strong showing in the Iowa caucus, which is nine months away.

In the crowded Republican field, Giuliani, the former New York mayor, leads in most national popularity polls. Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, has the most money while McCain, the Arizona senator, has an organized national political operation.

A number of other Republicans, including former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson, are flirting with a run.

Brownback, who is anti-abortion and refers to himself as a “bleeding heart conservative,” said he does not believe Republican voters would elect a pro-choice candidate.

“This party is a strong pro-life party,” he said. “I stand by the need to rebuild the family and renew the culture.”

In his speech, Brownback went even farther.

“I want to be president to appoint the justice that votes to overturn Roe,” Brownback said, referring to the historic Supreme Court decision Roe vs. Wade that legalized abortion.

He also talked about his plan for Iraq, energy independence, cracking down on illegal immigration, trimming government waste, his opposition to same-sex marriage and his belief that the Republican Party lost sight of its principals supporting spending restraint for government.

Brownback also supports an alternate flat tax and working to end cancer deaths in 10 years.

When asked at the news conference about stem cell research, Brownback said he supported such work using adult cells but not embryonic stem cells.

He also opposes a timeline for withdrawal from Iraq and instead supports creating a three-state, one-country solution for the country under which American troops would remain but in fewer numbers.

“We don’t have unlimited time,” he said. “We’ve got to get the political situation to stabilize in Iraq.”

Wisconsin is seen as an important swing state in the general election. But because its Feb. 19 primary falls late in the season – likely after someone has captured the nomination – the state is not a hotspot for those trying to capture that nod.

“Until the candidates know they have to fight it out in Wisconsin, they don’t have to pay a lot of attention to us,” Franklin said.