The latest presidential bid by former Gov. George E. Pataki of New York has gone the way of his previous bids: it ended before it began.
Mr. Pataki, whose flirtations with running for president stretch back more than a decade, canceled a planned trip to Iowa this weekend and will not pursue the Republican nomination, according to news reports on Friday.
Mr. Pataki, 66, who served three terms as governor, from 1995 through 2006, prompted considerable head-scratching this week after signaling that he might declare his candidacy at a Republican picnic in Des Moines on Saturday. On Wednesday, what appeared to be a draft of a campaign Web site was uncovered by The New York Observer, raising expectations further.
Mr. Pataki notched several trips this year to Iowa and New Hampshire, another early voting state, in his capacity as honorary chairman of No American Debt, a group that favors reducing the federal debt and is critical of President Obama.
But he faced long odds at winning the Republican nomination, in part because his moderate stances on some social issues would not likely sit well with many primary voters. Lacking significant fundraising or campaign infrastructure, Mr. Pataki was roundly mocked by political analysts in recent days for his consideration of a run.
Mr. Pataki’s decision to not seek the nomination was first reported on Friday by CNN. A spokesman for Mr. Pataki did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Source: NY Times)
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Pataki (and Guiliani) could have won a Senate sheet in 2010, and emerged as leaders of the national Republican party. With a distinguished resume, and a recent victory in a “blue” state (and taking Hillary’s old seat as well), they would have been serious candidates for national office (certainly more than someone such as Romney who has won election is his life, and that was 10 years ago).
Only a bit of realism is keeping them from turning into distinguished retired statement into the reincarnation of Harold Stassen (a distinguished Republican “what if”).