On Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who’s been the target of Republican recruitment efforts for a month, declared that he’d “ruled out” a bid for Kansas’ open Senate seat next year. On its face, that answer seems pretty clear, but it only came after Pompeo repeatedly tried to dodge questions about his 2020 plans, so it doesn’t feel like he’s quite ready to close the door on a Senate bid.
For weeks, Pompeo has declined to address the possibility of a Senate campaign directly, only saying time and again how much he loves his current job. Even his interview with NBC’s Craig Melvin on Thursday seemed to follow the usual pattern. When Melvin asked Pompeo about the race, he again responded he was “going to be the secretary of state as long as President Trump gives me the opportunity.” When Melvin pressed him as to whether he had “no interest in being a senator from Kansas,” Pompeo again would only talk about how great his current gig is.
Melvin cannily did not let Pompeo off the hook, though, inquiring further, “Sounds like you’re not ruling it out.” It was only after this, which was Melvin’s third time asking about about the race, that Pompeo finally responded, “It’s ruled out. I’m here. I’m loving it.”
So, is this the end of the Mike Pompeo for Senate talk? We’ll see. As we say, it’s noteworthy that Melvin had to ask Pompeo about this race repeatedly before he’d say he’d “ruled out” a run, so it doesn’t seem like he wants to definitively take his name out of the conversation. It also remains to be seen if Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and his allies will take this answer as a final no and move on, or if they’ll keep trying to woo Pompeo.
Perhaps more important is how Pompeo’s would-be rivals view his latest pronouncement. A number of Kansas Republicans have also been eyeing this contest, and many of them have said that they’d defer to Pompeo if he ran. If, however, they start moving forward with campaigns of their own, it’s a sign they believe Pompeo is actually going sit this one out.
However, Kansas’ filing deadline isn’t until June of 2020, so Pompeo still has plenty of time to change his mind. And given his high profile and broad connections, he can afford to wait, even if some potential opponents enter the primary before he does.
