If he were to enter the race, Pataki would be challenging Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand, who was recently appointed to succeed Hillary Clinton in the Senate.
It is clear that Cornyn prefers the possibility of a Pataki candidacy over the candidacy of Rep. Peter King (R-NY), who has been trailing Gillibrand by double-digits in recent polling.
A Marist poll released that month found Gillibrand and Pataki in a statistical dead heat, with Gillibrand leading Pataki 44-42.
However, a 2010 Senate bid is seen as unlikely according to officials close to Pataki:
Former Rep. Thomas Reynolds, a close Pataki friend, told Gannett News Service that he spoke to Pataki for about 20 minutes Wednesday and the topic never came up.
"George Pataki as a mayor, as an assemblyman, as a senator and as a three-term governor, should he ever choose to re-enter public life, that's the most formidable Republican candidate we would have in the state," Reynolds said.
But Reynolds said Pataki, 63, of Garrison is enjoying the private sector as an attorney and spending time with his family, and "I just don't know that George Pataki wants to pursue a senatorial race."
Even if Pataki does run, there is no need for Democrats to panic. He left office in 2006 with a mediocre-to-low favorability rating, and might not have enough pull in New York anymore to defeat Gillibrand next year, given how blue the state has become.
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