Two Right-Wingers Mulling Governor Bids

According to news reports, both Club for Growth President Pat Toomey and disgraced “Ten Commandments Judge” Roy Moore are signaling that they might run for Governor of their respective states of Pennsylvania and Alabama.

From the Morning Call:

Former Lehigh Valley Congressman Pat Toomey has begun formally exploring a run for governor, setting up a meeting with area GOP donors as he assesses his potential candidacy in 2010.

Toomey, president of the anti-tax group The Club for Growth, is scheduled to sit down with several influential and deep-pocketed Lehigh Valley Republicans in early February to “discuss his thinking of a possible gubernatorial run,” according to an e-mail invitation sent out Friday on behalf of Arcadia Properties founder Richard Thulin.

He has also put calls out statewide to supporters this week with the aim of raising $50,000 to do some preliminary polling, said a GOP source who was briefed on his plans this week.

Toomey, in a statement released today, said he has had “several preliminary conversations with supporters of mine regarding a possible run for governor in 2010.”

“Given the state of Pennsylvania’s economy and the disastrous state budget deficits we face, there certainly is a need for major changes in Harrisburg,” Toomey said. “It is still very early in my exploration of a possible run but it is something I will consider.”

From the AP:

Former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore says he is seriously considering making another race for governor in 2010.

Moore has been running a legal organization, the Foundation for Moral Law, since losing the Republican primary to incumbent Gov. Bob Riley in 2006. But in recent weeks, a growing number of supporters has been calling and visiting Moore, encouraging him to run again.

Moore says that if he runs, it will be as a Republican. He expects to make a decision in the spring.