| This morning, King said that many people have been urging him to reconsider, and that he was now open to a challenge.
Presumably if he gets substantial fund-raising help and polls show that he has a chance. (Head-to-head polls through August showed King behing Gillibrand by an average of about 20 percent.)
The mere fact King called in to a small radio station 200 miles or so from his district indicates that he is interested in more than re-election.
King was reconsidering his decision even before the Christmas bombing attempt got his lots of free media. Back on Dec. 23, he told Politico:
King said that leading Republican political operatives, from Karl Rove to New York Republican Party Chairman Ed Cox, have encouraged him to challenge New York Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in the past several weeks but that he's still unlikely to pursue statewide office next year.
"All I've told them is that over the holidays I'll discuss it with my family, but I don't see any reason to change my mind," King said.
The nine-term congressman said that, on a scale of 1 to 10, the chances that he will run are at a "3."
King added that the only thing that's changed since August - when he announced he wasn't running - is that his GOP colleagues believe they can make significant gains in the Senate next year, and he would be more likely to receive national money given the encouraging environment.
Well, the holidays are over, and given King's phone call this morning, the probability number is somewhat higher than 3. |
