George Pataki Guarantees: ‘I Can Beat Hillary Clinton’
Former New York state governor George Pataki announced that he would run for the Republican nomination on Thursday. In the days since, Pataki has been called a “long shot” for the nomination. In fact, there have been doubts about whether he will even be among the top ten Republicans running when the first Republican debate comes around in August.
Despite all the doubters, George Pataki is certain that he can beat Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton in a general election. At least, that’s what Pataki said during an interview on America with Jorge Ramos.
“I know I can beat Hillary Clinton. When I ran as governor, I didn’t just appeal to the Republican base. Yes, I did, and they came out in droves. But I appealed to independents, to moderates, to Democrats. And by the way, with the Latino community, I carried the Latino community. … I won it as a Republican.”
Pataki was a three-term governor in the state of New York, which has been a historically Democratic state. He held office from 1995-2006, and during his first winning gubernatorial election, defeated incumbent Mario Cuomo, who was a Democrat. In winning the 1995 election, George Pataki became just the third Republican governor to hold the office since 1923.
.@GovernorPataki: ‘I know I can beat Hillary Clinton’ http://t.co/YElLy0UEB7 pic.twitter.com/OqVlHqVEi0
— AMERICA (@ThisIsAmerica) May 29, 2015
In order to beat Clinton, though, Pataki would first have to win the nomination from the GOP. In the days since he’s joined the Republican candidate pool, George Pataki has made an effort to highlight his experience while making note of the differences between himself and the rest of the Republican field. So far, eight candidates have declared for the primary election, and at least five more are expected to announce their intentions to run.
While George Pataki has been discounted and called a long shot by many pundits and media outlets, there is at least one analyst who believes Pataki to be the most qualified candidate to declare so far.
During an episode of MSNBC’s Morning Joe, pundit Joe Scarborough had this to say about Pataki:
“There is no doubt when you look at his qualifications on paper, he is easily the most qualified Republican. (Pataki was) a three-term governor of a massively large state — a blue state — and shocked a liberal (to win office).”
What do you think of the declaration made by Pataki? Do you think George Pataki has the ability to beat Hillary Clinton in a general election?
[Photo by Darren McCollester/Getty Images]
