No White House bid for King

Peter King will not be trading his modest home in Seaford for the White House. The Republican congressman announced last week that he would not run for president, ending two years of speculation.

King, in an interview with Wolf Blitzer on CNN on July 1, confirmed that he would not seek the nation’s highest office. He said his decision was based on money and an already crowded Republican field of presidential candidates.

“I gave it a lot of thought,” King told the Herald in an interview later that day. “I have no regrets.”

King, 71, said that the amount of money to simply start a presidential campaign would be astronomical. He also explained that it would be unlikely that he would make the cut for a primary debate, which would typically feature the top eight to 10 candidates, making it harder for him to get his message out.

He took some preliminary steps toward a presidential campaign, visiting New Hampshire, Vermont and Rhode Island, where he met with party leaders and other high-profile Republicans.

New Hampshire is the first state to hold a primary during the presidential campaign, and the second major step after the Iowa caucuses. It is one of the first states that candidates focus on, which is why King said he made several visits there in recent months.

King also said he wouldn’t want a presidential run to distract from his duties representing his constituents. New York’s 2nd Congressional District runs from Seaford to Sayville, and King says he plans to seek re-election to that seat in 2016. He was first elected in 1992, and was the Nassau County comptroller before that.

He is now serving his 11th term in the House of Representatives, and has won with as much as 72 percent of the vote in past elections.

“We’re certainly disappointed,” Seaford Republican Club President Charlie Milone said of King’s announcement, “but we certainly understand the reasons why he’s not going to run.”

Milone said he believed King would have made a great presidential candidate, but is glad that he wants to continue representing Seaford in Congress. He added that King’s prominence has already put Seaford on the map, “but certainly having one of our own run for president would have been very exciting.”

King is a member of the House Homeland Security and Intelligence committees, and regularly appears on news shows to take about national security issues. He said he wanted to continue his focus on security and counterterrorism.

As the developments in the presidential race unfold, King said, he will be watching closely. Among the candidates he would like to see win the Republican nomination, he added, are Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, former New York Gov. George Pataki or Lindsey Graham. Candidates such as Rand Paul and Ted Cruz, he added, are not right for the presidency because of their isolationist policies.

“We don’t need people who are strictly ideological or appeal to the lowest common denominator,” he said, adding that voters deserve candidates who will give serious thought to the issues.

King said he also wants a candidate who is well versed on foreign policy and who can genuinely identify with the middle class, people King described as “the heart of the country. The people who make the engine run.”

Overall, he said, the nominee should be a “blue collar” Republican who can appeal to voters on both sides.

Living in Seaford for the past 43 years and raising his family in the community has kept him grounded, King said. When he is home, he is just a regular citizen, shopping in local stores and attending his grandson’s Little League games, but, he said, he also maintains a high profile in the community, attending parades and other functions. Last month, he was the keynote speaker at Seaford High School’s graduation.