Last week State Health Commissioner Dr. Antonia Novello, a former U.S. surgeon general, announced that she would not seek the Republican nomination to challenge Sen. Clinton. Although it was a long-shot that Novello would ever officially enter the race, many prominent GOPers were hoping against hope that the accomplished woman would challenge Mrs. Clinton. But with Dr. Novella out of the picture, a new former Reagan/Bush female official is considering jumping into the race.
Kathleen Troia "KT" McFarland, a former Pentagon official in the early 80s, had been preparing for a possible race against Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), when she was asked to consider the Senate race instead by Republicans in Washington and New York who she would not identify. This has piqued McFarland's curiosity, who now says "I'm considering it, and I'm meeting with people in the party and in the Conservative Party." She says that she will decide within two weeks whether to run for the Senate nomination. McFarland is being advised by former Reagan strategist Ed Rollins and veteran New York political operative William O’Reilly, who said "The question is: Is there room in the Senate race for someone with KT's credential? I think that answer had to be 'yes.'"
In preparing for a potential race against Rep. Maloney, McFarland raised nearly $400,000, as compared to John Spencer’s $243,000 in his campaign account. Hillary's camp is taking the news of another potential challenger in stride, as spokesman Howard Wolfson says "Republicans in New York are growing increasingly embarrassed by Mr. Spencer's campaign, so it's no surprise that the GOP field is once again in disarray."
Meanwhile, John Spencer's campaign manager, Kevin Collins, had some advice for the pro-choice McFarland, "If a pro-abortion, big-government, elitist liberal wants to run for Senate, I suggest she try the Democrat Party."
