New York Daily News
09-26-06
Pataki set to take political plunge in Iowa
BY DAVID SALTONSTALL
DAILY NEWS SENIOR CORRESPONDENT
Gov. Pataki may be a lame duck in Albany, but he's an early bird in Iowa.
The Republican is expected Friday to become the first presidential hopeful of
2008 to open a campaign office in Iowa, home to the first presidential caucus.
And once he's up and running, aides said yesterday, he plans on opening offices in
New Hampshire and South Carolina - both critical presidential battlegrounds.
Pataki spokeswoman Alicia Preston insisted the new office outside Des Moines has nothing to do with Pataki's presumed
"It's a good thing for him because it means he'll have a physical presence and can't be dismissed as someone who just parachutes in," Iowa
State University political science Prof. Steffen Schmidt said of Pataki's new office. upcoming midterm election. investing in this. It is two years out and I am going to be coming back.'" will technically serve as a hub for Pataki's political action committee, the 21st Century
Freedom PAC. "As a Republican, Gov. Pataki has an interest in making sure that the ideals he believes in are maintained."
As unlikely as Pataki's White House dreams may seem to many New Yorkers - only 4% of city residents said they thought he'd make a good President, one recent Daily News poll found - Pataki has been working the hinterlands hard.
He has already spent 17 full days campaigning in Iowa since late 2004, more than any other presidential hopeful except Democrat John Edwards.
"It's a good thing for him because it means he'll have a physical presence and can't be dismissed as someone who just parachutes in," Iowa State University political science
Prof. Steffen Schmidt said of Pataki's new office. "He can say, 'Look, I am investing in this. It is two years out and I am going to be coming back.'"