Just as I'm finally starting to forget about George Pataki (12 years a NY governor and a major FAIL in trying for the repub Presidential nomination...), here he comes again, maybe.
According to the never-wrong AP, George Pataki is possibly being drafted to run against Kirsten Gillibrand in NY's special senatorial election in 2010.
"The head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee approached former Gov. George Pataki this week about running for the U.S. Senate in 2010, according to a person who spoke to Pataki about the private meeting.
The person confirmed Tuesday’s meeting in New York City between Pataki and Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican who heads the party’s national senate campaign committee. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because he isn’t authorized to comment."
(Note that in the following paragraph, AP writer Michael Gormley is assuming that Gillibrand will be the Democratic candidate. And while I know she has pledged to run, and I believe she will be the Dem candidate, the 2010 NY primary is 19 months away, anything can happen...)
The article goes on to talk about how Pataki defeated Mario Cuomo, became a popular environmentally friendly governor, and how he saved the state, financially.
What the article fails to mention was that during his final year in office, his favorable/unfavorable rating was 38/55.
Now I have to admit that with all the talk about a possible Democratic primary, and Peter King and Giuliani on the right, I never considered Pataki as a possibility. Now, having considered it, I'd have to say that no matter who the Dems run in 2010, with Pataki as their opponent, the seat will remain safely in Democratic hands.