Rumors have been flying around over the past year or so about the possibility of MSNBC political commentator and host of
“Hardball,” Chris Matthews, running for the Senate in Pennsylvania. He was born in Philadelphia.
Could it really happen? Two separate reports today indicate that it just might. FiveThirtyEight reports that Matthews has
been in discussions with veteran Obama staffers to “enlist in his campaign.”
Additionally, the Associated Press picked up on the story today to report that a Pennsylvania Democratic party leader has
heard some serious rumblings of a potential run as well.
A Pennsylvania Democratic party leader says MSNBC pundit Chris Matthews may be considering a run for U.S. Senate in 2010.
The Patriot-News of Harrisburg reports Matthews met with state party leaders this past week in Washington to discuss a
possible bid to unseat Republican Sen. Arlen Specter.
Party official Mary Isenhour says she left the meeting feeling that Matthews still hadn’t made up his mind.
The 62-year-old Matthews hosts MSNBC’s “Hardball” and provides political commentary on NBC’s “Today.” He ran unsuccessfully
for a Pennsylvania congressional seat in 1974.
But of course, the inevitable “that’s crazy!” retort was given by a spokesperson at MSNBC to Politico in response to the
rumors which have suddenly gained newsworthy attention today.
UPDATE: Through a spokesperson, Matthews gave the following statement to Politico about the FiveThirtyEight report: “It is
absolutely not true.”
Matthews would reportedly run as a Democrat against veteran incumbent Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA). Some pundits, including
the Cook Political Report, see Specter as a possible candidate for retirement when his term runs out in 2010. Specter would
be 80 at that time and has had two serious battles with cancer over the past few years.
The Cook folks have Specter’s seat currently rated as “Leans Republican” which means it would likely be a competitive race.
A recent poll shows Specter would have a significant lead to start with, largely due to the fact that voters don’t know much
about Matthews.
Source:
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