Peter King "leaning against" run for Senate
BY REID J. EPSTEIN
8:43 PM EDT, June 30, 2009
Rep. Peter King said Tuesday the odds of him challenging Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in 2010 are now "less than 50-50" after he was appointed to the House intelligence committee.
King (R-Seaford) said he told House Minority Leader John Boehner (R- Ohio) that he "probably" will not run for the Senate and spoke pessimistically about his ability to raise enough money for a statewide race.
"I'm probably leaning against it," King said. "There's no doubt I want to run. On the other hand I don't know if I can raise the $30 [million] to $40 million I'd need. Most people don't know who I am, the values I represent."
Still, he called Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) "very unpopular" in New York and said she could be an easy mark for a well-financed Republican. Any opponent, he said, would seek to tie her to African American Gov. David A. Paterson, who appointed her to the seat in January and has low poll numbers. "For an incumbent senator, I don't know if anyone has lower numbers. She can be very vulnerable," King said.
Gillibrand spokeswoman Bethany Lesser declined to comment.