Posted on 01/05/2010 7:14:43 PM PST by Steelfish
Harold Ford Jr. Weighs a Challenge to Gillibrand
By MICHAEL BARBARO January 5, 2010 Encouraged by a group of influential New York Democrats, Harold Ford Jr., the former congressman from Tennessee, is weighing a bid to unseat Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand in this fall’s Democratic primary, according to three people who have spoken with him.
Mr. Ford, 39, who moved to New York three years ago, has told friends that he will decide whether to run in the next 45 days. The discussions between Mr. Ford and top Democratic donors reflect the dissatisfaction of some prominent party members with Ms. Gillibrand, who has yet to win over key constituencies, especially in New York City.
About a dozen high-profile Democrats have expressed interest in backing a candidacy by Mr. Ford, including the financier Steven Rattner, who, along with his wife, Maureen White, has been among the country’s most prolific Democratic fund-raisers.
“Maureen and I worked hard for Harold in his last race because we think the world of him,” Mr. Rattner said, referring to Mr. Ford’s run for the Senate in Tennessee in 2006. “He has extraordinary drive and intelligence and will excel at anything that he chooses to do.”
Among those who have encouraged Mr. Ford to consider a run are Merryl H. Tisch, the chancellor of the New York State Board of Regents, whose husband, James, is the chief executive of the Loews Corporation, and Richard Plepler, the co-president of HBO, according to people who have spoken with them.
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, who has publicly tangled with Ms. Gillibrand, is open to the possibility of supporting a challenger of Mr. Ford’s stature, according to those familiar with his thinking.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
I love how these Demons uproot if need be and move somewhere to screw the American people.
Harold Ford Jr. = Obama’s evil twin
Are there no actual New Yorkers who can win a Senate seat?
New York has a long and storied history full of carpetbaggers.
The Ford family was infamous for machine politics in Memphis. Who’da think New York would be represented in the Senate by two crime families from Arkansas and across the river from Arkansas?
>> storied <<
You misspelled “sordid.”
So I did. My bad.
FWIW, Imus will go ballistic on him.
He was a Ford fan till Harold turned his back on him after the Rutgers kefluffle.
Who else ran as a U.S. Senate candidate from two different states?
One that comes to mind is James Buckley (NY (successfully), CT (unsuccessfully)),
I prefer sordid... it’s a much more appropriate word.
Just what NY State needs another carpetbagger Senator!
That is a good question. I can't think of any. I didn't even remember Buckley until you mentioned him. I was thinking of Kennedy, Clinton. But, I suspect that there very well may be several from the time of Reconstruction.
Not many left, Most left to cheaper places to live
Specter immigrated from Kansas to Philth-adelphia for just that purpose....
Another one: Bob Smith (NH, successfully), FL (?). I don’t think he (nor Ford) should count if they don’t win their primaries...it makes the question a *whole* lot easier to research.
NY folks bought into Hillary, Harold Ford Jr. is just a natural progression for people of stupidity.
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