The Associated Press reported today that Tom Tancredo is expected to end his presidential campaign Thursday, two weeks before the Jan. 3 Iowa Caucus.

Tancredo’s withdrawal is expected to come at what his campaign is saying will be a major announcement Thursday in Des Moines, according to the AP.

The Colorado Republican congressman’s opposition to immigration — both legal and illegal — brought him into the national public eye. But his message didn’t catch fire with the voters and he never made it into the upper tier of candidates, according to NBC News/Wall Street Journal polls.

According to the AP’s George Merritt, “Fears about illegal immigration boosted Tancredo’s profile, but it didn’t translate into support as reflected by his low standing in national and state polls and his limited fundraising. In part, candidates such as Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani usurped Tancredo’s hardline stance on the issue, prompting the congressman to quip at one debate that ‘all I’ve heard is people trying to out-Tancredo Tancredo.’”

— Dave Toplikar is new media managing editor for the Las Vegas Sun.