Also at The Albany Project
Peter King, the Republican Congressman who represents most of Nassau County, has been all over the national media lately (CNN, Today show, etc.) attacking Obama for his reaction to the failed underpants bombing of NWA 253.
He kicked off the New Year by calling in to Paul Vandenburgh's show this morning on WGDJ-AM in Albany, and, aside from his usual Obama-bashing, also reopened the door to a possible challenge of Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand this year.
Back in August, King had said that he would not run against Gillibrand because he didn't think he could raise enough money to be competitive.
I would have to spend every waking moment over the next year trying to raise money for that race. And it would still be a stretch.
But back in August, GOP leaders were hoping to interest Rudy Giuliani or George Pataki in the race. Both of those guys are out (Giuliani officially, Pataki unofficially), so King is Plan C.
Details, below.
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 behind 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.