Sarah Palin Considering to Run for Senate Seat
Sarah Palin said Monday on Fox's "The Sean Hannity Show" that she has considered running for senator in 2014 against incumbent Mark Begich (D-Alaska), declaring that Washington needs "new blood and new energy."
Palin told Hannity that outside interest has encouraged her to think about possible candidacy, but that she has made no decisions at this point. "I've considered it because people have requested me considering it but I'm still waiting to see what the lineup will be," she said.
She added that her commitment to helping her country would be a factor in making her decision.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
"Any American with a heart for service has to always have in the back of their mind that they would do anything, everything that they could to help the cause, even if it's perhaps something that doesn't look necessarily appealing or necessarily fitting in with a conventional plan that they would try to orchestrate for themselves and their family," said Palin. "I…would have to say that I would do whatever I could to help and you know if that were part of that help then it would have to be considered."
Palin, who as a Washington outsider shook up the 2008 presidential race when John McCain's campaign named her his vice presidential candidate, also spoke about the need for more outside voices in the Capitol.
"[I'm] hoping that there will be…not just kind of picking from the same old politician… that have reigned up there for so many years because too many of them have been part of the problem," she said.
At the beginning of May, the conservative PAC, the Tea Party Leadership Fund, polled 379 Alaskan registered Republicans about their top choices for the state's 2014 Senate Republican primary.
Niger Innis, the spokesperson for the Tea Party Leadership Fund, explained that the depth of excitement around Palin led their group to decide to initiate the poll.
"Our organization and its affiliates all want to know when is Governor Palin going to toss her ring back into the ring of battle which is politics?" said Innis. "What we found is that in the primary she is far and away the preference and will be a formidable candidate."
According to their findings, Palin leads the potential GOP Primary with 32 percent of the support, followed by current candidate Lieutenant Governor Mead Treadwell holding 30 percent of the vote, and 2010 GOP Senate nominee Joe Miller had 14 percent.
Sixty-two percent of voters had a favorable impression of her, the highest percentage of the trio. Palin also polled favorably when asked which candidate would be the "strongest person to take on liberal Democrats in Washington," receiving 43 percent of the total votes.
According to Innis, the results of the pool, in and of themselves, have invigorated Palin supporters.
"After the poll was released we got some very enthusiastic feedback in Alaska and across the country," said Innis. "As opposed [to running] again for governor or the House of Representatives or other elected office, people really want her in the Senate. The dream image of Tea Party conservatives is her being in Harry Reid's face."
Despite rumors of a 2012 potential presidential run, Palin has not held political office since she stepped down as Alaska's governor in 2009.
SarahPAC, the former governor's official PAC, did not respond to requests for comment by press time.
