| Last week, former Governor George Pataki endorsed Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman in the 23rd congressional district race. It was an interesting endorsement for a few reasons. Pataki, who is far from the right-wing on a number of issues and is known as a pro-choice Republican, chose to endorse the conservative candidate instead of the party candidate Dede Scozzafava. Scozzafava is actually very similar to Pataki in many respects, which is why Hoffman welcoming the endorsement was curious.
But it was also interesting because of Pataki's motives. Was this a way to make good with the right-wing before a run for U.S. Senate against Senator Kirsten Gillibrand? Or was this an attempt to cuddle up to the right-wing in hopes of a much bigger run?
Apparently, it could be the latter:
If you want to know who is well organized when it comes to 2012, it's sometimes useful to look at who stays in close touch with powerbrokers in the early nominating states.
So who has Manchester's newly elected Republican mayor heard from so far?
"I don't know who is running for president but I don't mind telling you who has called," Manchester Mayor-elect Ted Gatsas told ABC News at 5:15 pm ET on Wednesday. "I have gotten a couple of calls during the course of the day. Mitt Romney called and Tim Pawlenty called and Gov. Pataki called."
Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts who ran for president in 2008, and Pawlenty, the current governor of Minnesota who is not running for re-election in 2010, are widely viewed as two of the most active potential candidates at this early stage of the process.
Former New York Gov. George Pataki (R) is being urged by major Republican donors and the party apparatus in Washington to run against Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D) in 2010. While he has not made a final decision on a Senate run, Pataki has told at least one major GOP donor in private that he is not interested in becoming a senator at the age of 64 and would rather run for president in 2012.
I can't see Pataki being the nominee in 2012. The rightward shift of the Republican Party and their shunning of moderate candidates, barring any unforeseen changes, would mean Pataki is out. Pataki will try and do the same thing Sen. John McCain did: Make himself seem more conservative and probably name a more conservative runningmate. That will be good steps in the eyes of the right-wing, but they aren't going to like a pro-choice Republican running on their line. That's a big no-no for them.
But as it pertains to 2010, having Pataki tell someone in private that due to age, he isn't interested in becoming a senator would seem to indicate he is less interested in the Senate seat and would rather target the presidency. Not that I was worried about Pataki, but that would affect the GOP plans to give Gillibrand a serious challenger in 2010. Pataki is the best they have and if he doesn't want it, the bench gets smaller from there. |
