Following his resignation as a CNN anchor, New Jersey resident Lou Dobbs is said to be considering a run for the U.S. Senate from the Garden State.

"The veteran anchor — whose strong views on illegal immigration, healthcare and job creation propelled him to the top of the ratings at the cable network — said yesterday he had been approached about getting into politics, but insisted he was still weighing his options," the New York Post reported on Nov. 14.

Dobb announced his departure from "Lou Dobbs Tonight" on Nov. 11, reportedly under pressure to tone down his rhetoric as CNN seeks a more centrist position among the cable news channels.

The Senate seat currently held by Democrat Robert Menendez will be up for grabs in 2012. Menendez was appointed to the seat in 2006, when Jon Corzine left the Senate to begin his term as New Jersey governor. Menendez was elected later that year, beating Republican challenger Tom Kean Jr.

A Dobbs run for the Senate "is something that has been talked about, particularly for 2012 against Senator Menendez," said Brigit Harrison, a political science professor at Montclair State University in New Jersey.

And Patrick Murray, a polling chief at Monmouth University in New Jersey, told the Post: "Lou Dobbs would certainly be an early front-runner" for the GOP nomination if he ran.

Dobbs would start the campaign with high name recognition, and could be expected to be an effective fund-raiser due to his national prominence, the Post observed.

Dobbs registered as a Republican in Sussex County in 1991, then switched to independent in 2006.

Back in June 2008, several Republican sources told the Newark Star-Ledger that Dobbs had inquired about the steps he would need to take if he decided to run for governor in New Jersey.

Dobbs received an $8 million severance package to leave CNN with 1 1/2 years remaining on his contract, according to the Post.

He called his departure "a very amicable parting on the best of terms."

Dobbs is now "in the process of evaluating things," spokesman Robert Dilenschneider said. "There are a lot of people talking to him right now.

newsmax.com

permanent link