Mort Zuckerman considering NY senate run

By John Peeples

The New York Times reports that Mortimer B. Zuckerman is considering a run for the U.S. Senate seat for New York presently held by Kirsten E. Gillibrand (D).

Mr. Zuckerman regards Ms. Gillibrand as vulnerable to a challenge and is hoping that, at a time of economic tumult and political unrest, his background as an outsider to government, and his record as a business executive, will appeal to the state's electorate, these people said.

He would be the latest boldface name to weigh a run for the seat this fall; a former Tennessee congressman, Harold E. Ford Jr., is mulling a primary run against Ms. Gillibrand, a fellow Democrat, and will make a decision in the next few weeks.

Mr. Zuckerman is best known for his ownership of the New York Daily News and as a contributing writer (and, coincidentally, the owner) of U.S. News & World Report magazine (not exactly recognized around the globe as a bastion of conservatism.)

Though not currently enrolled in a party, he is known as a Democrat. But if he ran for the Senate, it would very likely be as a Republican or independent so he could avoid a costly primary.

Or, so he could glom on to the rising tide of conservatism. The first of many such.....