George Pataki Is Thinking Of Running For President For Some Reason

I can’t say I’ve got anything against George Pataki. He pulled off the seemingly impossible in 1994 and defeating Mario Cuomo’s bid for a fourth term as Governor of New York and went on to serve three terms of his own where he did a fairly good job of running the state and, to some extent, reviving the New York Republican Party. He’s a conservative, but in the Northeastern Republican sense meaning that he’s not nearly as conservative as a Southern or Western Republican, especially on social issues. He’s been mentioned as a candidate for national office in the past, but he’s always passed on the opportunity, as he did in 2010 when he declined to run for Senate against Kristin Gillibrand in what seemed like it could have been an opportune year. That said, I really don’t understand why he’s thinking of of running for President:

Sources tell NY1 former Governor George Pataki is strongly considering entering the crowded race for the Republican presidential nomination.

Sources say Pataki, who left office in 2007, could make an announcement as early as next week.

If he were to run, Pataki would face several major obstacles including launching an operation with little campaign cash and facing several opponents who have been meeting voters in Iowa and New Hampshire for months.

Pataki in the race would mean taht the GOP would have four former Governors in the race with a total of  36 combined years in office, but what he brings to the race that Romney, Huntsman, and Perry don’t, or that Pataki didn’t, I can’t quite figure out. Perhaps this is just Pataki’s way of boosting his national profile in the hope that he’d be considered for a cabinet position should the GOP candidate win in 2012. Beyond that, I can’t say understand why he’d do it.

 

FILED UNDER: 2012 Election, US Politics, , , , ,
Doug Mataconis
About Doug Mataconis
Doug Mataconis held a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University and J.D. from George Mason University School of Law. He joined the staff of OTB in May 2010 and contributed a staggering 16,483 posts before his retirement in January 2020. He passed far too young in July 2021.

Comments

  1. OzarkHillbilly says:

    Beyond that, I can’t say understand why he’d do it.

    He is a closet masochist.

  2. Bill W says:

    5 former governors. Gary Johnson is still campaigning.

    Also, I think, a masochist 😉