Bill Richardson

DES MOINES, Iowa -

Despite his fourth-place finish in Iowa, Democrat Bill Richardson said he'll keep campaigning as the only candidate who will get the troops out of Iraq next year.

"I just believe there is a lot of support for my position on the war, and I'm going to make this campaign a referendum on ending the war," the New Mexico governor said in an interview with The Associated Press shortly before boarding a plane to New Hampshire. Richardson, who got just 2 percent of the vote in Iowa, said he had called Barack Obama to congratulate the Illinois senator for his victory in the first test of the 2008 presidential election.

Richardson ran ads in the final days of the Iowa campaign criticizing the top three finishers _ Obama, John Edwards and Hillary Rodham Clinton _ for refusing to commit to a quicker withdrawal of troops. He was the only Democratic candidate to criticize rivals by name in his ads.

Obama, Clinton and Edwards said in a debate three months ago that while they plan to end the war in Iraq, they cannot guarantee pulling out all U.S. combat troops by the end of the next presidential term in 2013. They say some troops would have to stay to protect the American Embassy or for other duties. Richardson has said that's not really ending the war.

Now that Sens. Chris Dodd of Connecticut and Joe Biden of Delaware have dropped out of the Democratic contest, Richardson suggested he has a better chance of getting his message through.

"We made the final four and we're on to New Hampshire," Richardson said to the loud cheers of about 300 supporters gathered in a downtown hotel ballroom.

Richardson said he'd been held back by a lack of funds, but said his political views would prevail with voters beyond New Hampshire.

"When you're outspent 20-1 it shows, but this race is not over, wait until we get to New Mexico, Arizona, California and Colorado," he said.

In the interview, Richardson blamed his loss on a large turnout that benefited Obama. He said voters clearly were attracted to Obama's message of bringing change to the White House.

Richardson rose to double-digits in the polls last summer and once seemed set to break into the top tier of candidates. But his climb in the polls stalled in the fall as Obama's campaign began to surge.

A poll of those entering the caucuses showed that Richardson had 7 percent support. But any candidate who doesn't get at least 15 percent support in a given precinct is not viable under Iowa Democratic Party rules and their supporters are free to back other candidates.

Supporter Mike Grooms, 53, of Des Moines, said Richardson supporters at his caucus site all shifted to Obama "because it would damage (Hillary) Clinton," once it became clear Richardson wasn't viable. A Richardson adviser confirmed that the campaign encouraged local organizers to move to Obama when Richardson didn't meet the threshold.

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Associated Press writer Nedra Pickler in Washington contributed to this report.