Sam Brownback reportedly quits the presidential race, freeing up more social conservative votes

When Kansas Senator Sam Brownback first got in the race, most analysts believed he had a great chance to break into the first-tier. He was supposed to be the underdog-that-surges forward in Iowa, and appeal to the Republican base thanks to his social conservatism.

A few months later, Brownback is completely broke, unable to raise what he meaningfully campaign. Most frustrating is that he placed behind Mike Huckabee at the Ames Straw Poll in August. Huckabee and Brownback were competing for the vote of social conservatives. They even engaged in a very nasty battle accusing each other of anti-Catholicism and anti-Protestantism. Huckabee came out ahead and got a lot of publicity and media coverage following that -- taking all the oxygen out of Brownback's campaign. It became clear then that Brownback had little chance of a surprise showing in Iowa.

Today, news broke that Brownback was about to end his presidential run! That means three candidates have dropped out of the GOP race for now (Gilmore, Tommy Thompson, and Sam Brownback). No one has dropped out of the Democratic race for now (Update: A commentor rightly points out that Vilsack dropped out as a Dem. He did it so early that I had forgotten all about it). Who does this benefit? Well nobody that much. Brownback was barely a blip in polling, so there aren't many votes to recuperate.

Keeping in mind that the impact is minimal, the biggest beneficiary will probably be Mike Huckabee. Brownback supporters will probably find Huckabee's candidacy closest to their social conservatives concerns, especially in Iowa where Huckabee is ideally positioned for a breakthrough. And Giuliani stands most to lose: The more people divide the social conserative vote, the better it is for him.