http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051223/ap_on_...DMzBHNlYwM3MDM-N.Y. Republican: Cox May Make Senate Bid By MARC HUMBERT, Associated Press Writer
Fri Dec 23,12:32 PM ET
Edward Cox, a son-in-law of the late President Richard Nixon, is reconsidering his decision two months ago to withdraw from the race for the Republican nomination to challenge Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, the state's GOP chairman said Friday.
"I spoke with him yesterday and he said he was reviewing whether or not to run," said Stephen Minarik.
Minarik said he had reached out at the behest of several county GOP chairmen in the wake of Jeanine Pirro's Wednesday announcement that she was giving up her struggling campaign for the Senate nomination to run instead for state attorney general.
The Westchester County district attorney was the best-known of Clinton's potential GOP challengers, but had been under pressure from GOP leaders to switch races. Cox had withdrawn from the race in October after Republican Gov. George Pataki endorsed Pirro.
Minarik, Pataki's hand-picked state party chairman, said he did not expect any decision from Cox until January.
Cox spokesman Thomas Basile declined to comment.
The Pirro withdrawal left two active candidates for the GOP nomination, former Yonkers Mayor John Spencer, who is little known statewide, and an even much less well known tax attorney from Sullivan County, William Brenner.
Spencer said Friday he thought talk of Cox re-entering the race was "kind of goofy."
The former mayor said the party leaders should unite behind his candidacy.
"John's running and I'm not sure about Ed yet," Minarik said. "If John's our candidate, we'd be happy to have that. And, we'd be happy to have Ed Cox."
"I'm not encouraging or discouraging anyone," said Minarik when asked if he had encouraged Cox to re-enter the race. "I just wanted to get the lay of the land."
Minarik said he hoped to have county GOP chairmen meet sometime in mid- to late January, after Cox has made his decision, to consider who the party leaders would back.
Independent polls have shown Clinton far ahead of any of her potential GOP rivals for the 2006 Senate race. Clinton is leading in national polls among potential 2008 Democratic presidential contenders.