Gov. Bill Richardson may not announce whether he’ll run for president before the Legislature convenes on Tuesday, but he will make an announcement before the end of the month, his 2006 re-election campaign manager said.
Richardson had previously told at least two state media outlets that he would make a decision before the start of the session. But Amanda Cooper said today that Richardson will make a decision “sometime in January.”
“One thing there was no way to factor in was the whole trip to Sudan,” she said. “I think that changes a lot of things.”
Noting that the national media has focused on Richardson’s trip in the context of his potential 2008 run, Cooper said it has nothing to do with that. She said Richardson has proven throughout his career that he is passionate about diplomatic trips, and said his successful mission to bring jailed journalist Paul Salopek back from Sudan in September caught the attention of the Save Darfur Coalition, which recently asked Richardson to return and try to improve the situation in the war-torn region.
Cooper said she wished the media would do more to point out the dangerous mission Richardson is on and his willingness to travel to one of the most remote, ravaged areas in the world to meet with displaced women and children in tents with little protection from the fighting.
“This has nothing to do with 2008 ambitions,” she said. “This is quintessential Bill Richardson. This is what he loves to do.”
Richardson will return from Sudan Thursday, and Cooper said she and others will meet with him Thursday or Friday to discuss the presidential decision. She said it’s hard to say whether it will come before the session starts.
Richardson will be in South Carolina on Saturday to speak at a dinner honoring former Democratic governors of that state, leaving Sunday and Monday – Martin Luther King Jr. Day – as possibilities before the start of the session.
A Democratic Party activist I spoke with noted recently the amount of money needed to compete in a presidential primary – at least $15 million – and the limits on federal campaign contributions.
That means Richardson has to raise an average of tens of thousands of dollars each day – at a maximum of $2,000 per individual and $5,000 each for most political action committees – and the clock is already ticking.
Cooper said Richardson isn’t worried about that.
“When you have a chance to do what he’s doing now, it seems much less significant to talk about announcements and money, compared to what’s happening in Darfur (where 200,000 have died and 2.5 million have been displaced),” Cooper said. “He’s going to make a decision in January. Should he decide to move forward, I think he’ll have a strong base of support.”
Gov. Bill Richardson may not announce whether he’ll run for president before the Legislature convenes on Tuesday, but he will make an announcement before the end of the month, his 2006 re-election campaign manager said.