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George Pataki Presidential Campaign 2015
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| Contributor | Chronicler |
| Last Edited | Chronicler Jun 27, 2024 06:16pm |
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| Category | News |
| Author | Chronicler |
| News Date | Thursday, June 27, 2024 02:00:00 AM UTC0:0 |
| Description | George Pataki was one of over a dozen of Republicans who contested the 2016 presidential primaries. He had developed a reputation as a competent Governor of New York State. After defeating Gov. Mario Cuomo in a 1994 upset, Pataki went on to win two more races by wide margins, serving 1995 to 2007. He later said that a million New York Democrats voted for him. Although Pataki won the Conservative Party endorsement in his gubernatorial campaigns, he was a moderate on social issues. His work in the state after the 2001 terrorist attack was laudable, although NYC Mayor Giuliani overshadowed Pataki's work. State supporters of Pataki had tried to get him into the Republican presidential primaries in 2000 and then 2008 unsuccessfully, and his poor showing in the 2016 primaries obscures the depth of his support.
Pre-Announcement Maneuvering
After leaving office as governor, Pataki waited out the 2008 Republican primaries out of deference to Giuliani. After Obama's second victory in 2012, Pataki began to weigh a run. He met with David Koch just before the 2014 midterm elections at the Four Seasons restaurant in NYC (Elmira Star-Gazette, 10/2/2014). In January 2015, Pataki made a two-day visit to New Hampshire, speaking against the growth of the federal government and the federal deficit (Concord [NH] Monitor, 1/13/2015). Later in the month, Pataki opened a super PAC named Americans for Real Change that ran television ads promoting a potential candidacy (Lancaster LNP, 1/31/2015). Pataki then visited other early primary states in March 2015, including Iowa (Des Moines Register, 3/8/2015) and Florida (Palm Beach Post, 3/22/2015). The International Association of Fire Fighters meeting in Washington DC permitted time for presidential contenders to speak, and they gave Pataki one of their warmest greetings (Ithaca Journal, 3/14/2015). Pataki drove around New Hampshire in April 2015 holding events. He was accompanied by a single aide, riding in a Mitsubishi Spyder (Moline [IL] Dispatch, 12/30/2015).
Entering the 2016 Presidential Sweepstakes
Pataki announced his candidacy on May 28, 2015. He began by bringing online a YouTube video filmed in a New York skyscraper (Arizona Daily Star, 5/29/2015). Then he made a live announcement in the Old Town Hall in Exeter NH, in the same room where Abraham Lincoln had addressed a group of people in 1860. Over 100 supporters joined Pataki as he promised strong leadership, a stronger defense, and tolerance for immigration. Pataki also included some jabs at another New Yorker in the race, Hillary Clinton, who he said was undermining the middle class (Buffalo News, 5/29/2015).
Pataki's Campaign
An early sign of trouble came early in June 2015 when syndicated conservative columnist Jonah Goldberg wrote an editorial "The False Populism of George Pataki" that was carried in many papers. Goldberg presented the conservative case against Pataki, based mostly on some interviews with disgruntled conservative Republicans in New York (Los Angeles Times, 6/2/2015). Columnist David Shribman complained about the plethora of Republican contenders, wondering why so many bothered since the party was likely going to nominate one of three people: Jeb Bush, Scott Walker, or Marco Rubio (Biddeford ME Journal-Tribune, 6/4/2015). Pataki then put his campaign on a temporary hiatus after his son-in-law had a stroke on an airplane.
By the beginning of August, Pataki had reached a critical stage for his campaign: he needed a breakout event to become viable. He had raised just $853,000, but he only had $67,000 on hand. He attended a local candidate forum on August 3, at which he was the only Republican who said he would work with Democrats to draft an alternative program to replace Obamacare (Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, 8/4/2015).
Pataki participated in the "undercard" debate held just prior to the first Republican debate on August 6, 2015. The undercard event included seven people who did not have the polling or fundraising numbers to qualify for the main event. Although televised, the undercard debate did not have the same impact as the main event that followed, as none of the candidates had the breakout moment they all needed (Spokane [WA] Spokesman-Review, 8/7/2015). Later in the month, Pataki attended the Iowa State Fair. In his speech, he noted that he was the only Republican contender who grew up on a farm and owned tractors. He also recommended that Republicans look for someone who brought results rather than theater (Des Moines Register, 8/17/2015).
In September 2015, Pataki attended the undercard second debate. With increasing criteria for inclusion, Pataki was one of only four to make the cut (along with Santorum, Graham, and Jindal). The closest thing Pataki had to a stand out statement came when he said that people are obligated to obey all laws, which created an opening for Santorum to point to laws Christians might disagree with (Des Moines Register, 9/17/2015).
By October, Pataki was running out of money and was driving around New Hampshire meeting people informally. He went into a Panera Bread in Keene on October 7 to discover that no one there knew who he was (Concord Monitor, 10/8/2015). Two Republicans in NH wrote an article entitled "Pataki is a proven leader and problem-solver" that ran in some state newspapers in an effort to turn the attention of state Republicans to his campaign (Concord Monitor, 10/14/2015). The same four men appeared in the third undercard debate on October 28. While all gave good performances, none really stood out. Pataki made the case that he was the only contender who had made a significant difference in reducing taxes and that he had the strongest record of working with Democrats, both good points but neither seeming to move the needle (Des Moines Register, 10/29/2015).
Although he had shown such promise earlier, Pataki's campaign was winding down. He failed to get the 2.5% support in polls that was required to get into the fourth undercard debate in November, so instead he gave an interview in which he complained that the Republican campaign had become a version of the "Gong Show" (Salisbury MD Daily Times, 11/11/2015). Pataki qualified for the fifth undercard debate on December 15, along with Santorum, Graham, and Huckabee. The main takeaway from that debate was that they all complained about lack of attention to their campaigns (Philadelphia Inquirer, 12/16/2015). One of Pataki's one-liners was "Donald Trump is the Know-Nothing candidate of the 21st century and cannot be our nominee" (Central New Jersey Home News, 12/30/2015).
The week after the last mentioned debate, Pataki called his team together to discuss his candidacy. He was inclined to drop out but was concerned that the other Republicans wouldn't be able to unite the nation and defeat Hillary Clinton. However, Pataki finally suspended his campaign on December 30, 2015. He dropped out in an innovative way, using a television commercial that aired in NH, IA, and SC (Portland Press Herald, 12/31/2015).
Pataki's vote in the 2016 Republican primaries
By the time Pataki dropped out of the race, his name had already been entered onto the ballot in several states. Having dropped out of active contention, Pataki regularly placed at or near the bottom of the pack in each state. Nationwide, he received just over 2,000 votes, half of which came from Massachusetts and Michigan.
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