Nunn Rules Out ’88 Bid, Leaves Just One Southern Democrat

Sen. Sam Nunn, who had been considered a potentially strong conservative candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, said today that he will not run for the presidency in 1988 because of his family and Senate responsibilities.

“I know myself pretty well, and I have concluded that if I attempted to run for President, and also carry out my Senate duties, I would wind up doing neither well,” Nunn said in a letter to supporters.

“With a son in high school and a daughter in college, I am also concerned about the impact of a presidential campaign on my family,” the letter said.

A classic conservative Southern Democrat, Nunn is chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and the party’s pre-eminent expert on defense matters. He is serving his third term and is Georgia’s senior senator.

Nunn’s decision not to enter leaves six declared Democrats in the race for the nomination, with several others considering the plunge. Sen. Albert Gore Jr. of Tennessee is the only Southerner seeking the nomination, and he said today that he is “encouraged.”

Encouraged by Strauss, Robb

Nunn had put his presidential plans on hold in February because of his assignment to the Senate Iran- contra committee and his duties as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

He was encouraged to run by Democrats like past party Chairman Robert S. Strauss and former Virginia Gov. Charles Robb, who argued that Nunn would carry the South, a region critical to Democratic hopes for regaining the White House.

Other Democrats expressed concern that a Nunn candidacy would pull the party too far to the right.

Nunn has voted for aid to the contra rebels in Nicaragua, has supported efforts to overturn the Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion, voted in favor of President Reagan’s economic program and backs a constitutional amendment to require a balanced federal budget.

Challenge on ABM Pact

However, Nunn also challenged the Reagan Administration on such defense issues as its effort to reinterpret the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. Nunn disagreed with the effort to broaden the interpretation of the treaty to permit additional research on Reagan’s “Star Wars” plan for missile defense.

The prospect of a Nunn candidacy caused many Southern politicians to hold back from endorsing a Democratic candidate, according to the state legislators.

Nunn’s decision “takes Al Gore out of the shadows and makes him the Southern candidate,” said Claibourne Darden, a veteran Southern pollster.