Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick says he’s “not running” in 2016

Some speculation had been brewing around Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick and whether he might be preparing to launch a 2016 presidential campaign in the future. Patrick put the squash on those rumors with some definitive statements.

Report from the Washington Post:

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D) said Tuesday in pretty definitive terms that he will not run for president in 2016, and he also suggested he wouldn’t be President Obama’s next attorney general either.

“I am not running for president in 2016,” Patrick told reporters at UMass Boston, according to a transcript obtained by the Boston Globe.

“I’m going to finish this second term, I’m going to go back into the private sector,” Patrick said. “And as Diane, my wife, says, pay some attention to our family and friends while they are still willing have us pay some attention.”

Patrick has been considered a leading potential presidential candidate and potential replacement for Attorney General Eric Holder, who could be on his way out in the coming months.

The Fix has ranked him as high as No. 5 on the list of the likeliest Democratic presidential nominees in 2016.
He has already said he won’t seek reelection in 2014.

So we’re down to a small handful of other Democrats who may attempt to challenge Hillary Clinton from the Democratic nomination.


Nate Ashworth

The Founder and Editor-In-Chief of Election Central. He's been blogging elections and politics for over a decade. He started covering the 2008 Presidential Election which turned into a full-time political blog in 2012 and 2016 that continues today.

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