By Peter S. Green March 2 (Bloomberg) — Harold Ford Jr. , a former Tennessee congressman on leave from his job as a Merrill Lynch & Co. banker, said he won’t run against U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, a fellow Democrat. Ford, in an opinion-page article published on the New York Times Web site last night, accused Democratic “party bosses” of working to “bully me out of the race.” He said he decided to forgo his challenge for the good of the party. “If I run, the likely result would be a brutal and highly negative Democratic primary — a primary where the winner emerges weakened and the Republican strengthened,” Ford, 39, wrote. He said the “party bosses who tried to intimidate me” are the “same people responsible for putting Democratic control of the Senate at risk.” Ford’s announcement means Gillibrand, 43, has “caught a real break,” said Hank Sheinkopf , a New York-based political consultant. “Gillibrand should be dancing in the streets,” Sheinkopf said in a telephone interview. “It means she is going to get her dream –no primary, no real general election.” Ford, who moved to New York in 2006, took his leave of absence as a vice president of Merrill Lynch, now a unit of Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America Corp. , to explore a possible primary challenge against Gillibrand. She was appointed by New York Governor David Paterson to the seat vacated by Hillary Clinton when she became secretary of state. Ford served as a congressman from Tennessee for a decade starting in 1997, succeeding his father who held the seat for 22 years. He lost a race for the U.S. Senate in 2006. Backing for Gillibrand As Ford discussed a candidacy earlier this year, the Obama administration backed Gillibrand. “The White House is quite happy with the leadership and representation of Senator Gillibrand in New York,” President Barack Obama’s press secretary, Robert Gibbs , told reporters in Washington Jan. 11. “We’re supporting her.” Pollster Doug Schoen surveyed voter opinions for Ford last month, the New York Times reported Feb. 23, citing two people who had been interviewed for the census. In an apparent test of his vulnerabilities, Ford was described as a “carpetbagger,” a supporter of the National Rifle Association, a “flip-flopper” on gay marriage and Wall Street executive, the Times said. Schoen declined to comment when reached by phone last night. Ford spokeswoman Tammy Sun accused Gillibrand last month of using “underhanded tactics” to keep him off the ballot after she had won endorsements from 56 of the state’s 62 Democratic county leaders, the Times reported. Adviser Jefrey Pollock said Gillibrand had worked hard for the county leaders’ support, the Times reported Feb. 8. Lead in Poll Gillibrand led Ford 36 percent to 18 percent, with 40 percent of likely voters in a Democratic primary undecided, according to a poll by Quinnipiac University, in Hamden, Connecticut, released Feb. 3. The senator would beat declared Republican challenger Bruce Blakeman 44 percent to 27 percent, while Ford led Blakeman 35 percent to 26 percent, according to the survey. Gillibrand’s campaign spokesman Glen Caplin said last night that she would wage “a vigorous campaign” for the seat. “She takes a back seat to no one when it comes to fighting for New York,” Caplin said in an e-mailed statement. Paterson, a Democrat, isn’t running to keep the governorship. State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo , 52, is the “natural choice” to be the Democratic candidate for that post, Jay Jacobs, chairman of New York’s Democratic Party, said on Feb. 26, the day Paterson, 55, announced he wouldn’t make the race. Paterson’s decision followed a New York Times report that he and state police officers spoke with a woman who had filed domestic abuse charges against one of his aides. He vowed to serve out his term through year-end. To contact the reporter on this story: Peter S. Green in Washington at psgreen@bloomberg.net .
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Ford Cancels Plan to Challenge Fellow Democrat Gillibrand for Senate Seat
