Democrat Vilsack to drop out of 2008 race-sources

WASHINGTON, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Democrat Tom Vilsack, the former governor of Iowa, plans to drop his longshot 2008 bid for the White House, campaign and party sources said today.

Vilsack will make the announcement in Des Moines, Iowa, later this afternoon, the sources said.

Vilsack faced an uphill struggle competing for money and support in the Democratic presidential race against a heavyweight field led by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, the former first lady, and rising star Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois.

He was the first Democrat to jump in the 2008 race in November and kept a heavy schedule of campaign appearances around the country, but sources said he found it difficult to raise the money needed to stay in.

The former governor battled low name recognition and typically registered in the low single digits in national polls, well behind the top tier of Clinton, Obama and 2004 vice presidential nominee John Edwards.

While the top candidates are expected to raise as much as 100 million dollars before the first nominating contest in Iowa next January, Vilsack set a goal of raising million.

''It's not about having more money, it's about having enough money to compete,'' Vilsack said in an interview with Reuters in December.

Vilsack is the second declared Democratic candidate to drop out of the race. Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh, a former governor, dropped his bid in December shortly after entering the race.

REUTERS SAM RAI2205