Affiliation Republican Party | ||
 | ||
Campaign Republican primaries
United States presidential election, 2016 Candidate George Pataki
Governor of New York (1995–2007) Status Announced: May 28, 2015
Suspended: December 29, 2015 Headquarters 132 E. 43rd St. #614
New York, New York Key people Vincent Balascio, campaign manager | ||
The 2016 presidential campaign of George Pataki, the 53rd Governor of New York, was formally launched on May 28, 2015. After having considered a candidacy in previous cycles, his campaign for the Republican nomination for President of the United States in the 2016 election was his first bid for the presidency.
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On December 29, 2015, Pataki told his supporters that his campaign was henceforth suspended.
Background
Pataki, who served three consecutive terms as Governor of New York from January 1995 to January 2007, first publicly expressed interest in the idea of seeking the Republican presidential nomination during the 2008 presidential election cycle but did not run in that election.
He again openly contemplated a bid for the Republican nomination in the 2012 election before announcing in August 2011 that he had decided against doing so.
In an August 2014 interview with Newsmax TV, Pataki expressed interest in a presidential bid for the 2016 Republican nomination. In January 2015, he revealed to ABC News that he had launched a political action committee (PAC) for the purpose of exploring, and making preparations for, a possible presidential candidacy. On May 14, 2015, Pataki stated on MSNBC's Morning Joe that he would announce his decision regarding his potential candidacy on May 28 at an event in New Hampshire. He later confirmed to the New York Post that he intended to announce his candidacy for the 2016 Republican presidential nominination at the aforementioned event.
Campaign
Pataki officially launched his presidential campaign on May 28, 2015. He initially confirmed his candidacy via a video message which appeared on his website, before making a formal announcement before a gathering of supporters and members of the media in Exeter, New Hampshire. Pataki chose Exeter as the location for his announcement because it was the state capital during the Revolutionary War and is, by some accounts, the birthplace of the Republican Party.
A Quinnipiac poll conducted immediately after Pataki announced his campaign found him tied for first place among Republican voters in New York. Despite his popularity in his home state, his candidacy was considered a long-shot because of his age, not running a campaign since 2002, and his liberal stances on abortion, gay marriage, gun control and environmental protection.
Pataki did not perform well in nationwide polls. Most polls showed him polling at 1% or less of the Republican primary voters. On December 29, the Boston Globe reported that Pataki was contacting New Hampshire supporters to inform them he was dropping out of the race. He endorsed Florida Senator Marco Rubio on January 26, 2016. After Rubio suspended his campaign, Pataki endorsed Ohio Governor John Kasich on April 14, 2016, five days before the primary in his home state of New York.
Pataki did not file to be on the primary ballot in multiple states, including Florida, Virginia and Texas.