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Ferraro Likely To Challenge D'Amato
Her final decision to come in December
WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, July 8) -- Revolving-door Democratic politico Geraldine Ferraro will likely take another run at elective office and challenge New York GOP Sen. Alfonse D'Amato in 1998, she tells The New York Times.
In her strongest statement on the topic yet, Ferraro told the Times, "If it were today, I'd probably say, 'Yeah, I'm going to go.'"
Ferraro, 61, said she would make her final decision known in December. She is delaying her decision so it does not divert attention from this year's political races, including the New York City mayoral race. Ferraro also wants to test the waters to determine how much support she will get from her party and organized labor.
Confidantes in New York and Washington indicate Ferraro is delaying the announcement because she does not want to jeopardize her high-profile position as a commentator on CNN's "Crossfire" program. Her contract with the program expires next May and she would have to give up the job once she announced her candidacy.
Ferraro's comeback into politics in 1992, after the Reagan-Bush presidential ticket walloped the Mondale-Ferraro ticket in 1984, was quashed in a four-way race for the nomination against D'Amato.
On the Democratic side, a Ferraro run could pit her against two of New York's most experienced politicians, Rep. Charles Schumer of Brooklyn and Mark J. Green, the city's public advocate.
But she likes her chances against D'Amato. "I think he is eminently beatable," Ferraro said.