Wilson Says He Won’t Run for President in 2000

Former Gov. Pete Wilson has made his decision: It would be senseless to run again for president. He can’t raise enough money to compete.

“I’ve reluctantly reached the conclusion that it’s just not practical to pursue the nomination,” he says.

That’s a harsh reality Wilson had suspected for some time, but needed to reaffirm for himself after leaving the governor’s office Jan. 4. It didn’t take him long. A few phone calls to loyal backers and two meetings with longtime strategists sufficed. “They thought it was very uphill,” he says. So last Wednesday, he decided unequivocally to pull the plug.

Later, he talked about his decision during an interview in the high-rise Century City office that he subleases from Ronald Reagan.

“I don’t like to temporize,” he says, explaining why he’s announcing his decision now rather than waiting awhile in hopes of catching a lucky break--perhaps a front-runner like Texas Gov. George W. Bush opting not to run. “Confront it and get it over with.”

“I don’t pretend I’m not disappointed,” he adds. “But life goes on and there’s much to do and much to enjoy and I intend to do both.”

He’ll become a visiting fellow at Stanford’s Hoover Institution, a conservative think tank. It’s also his intention to head up two committees, one promoting political causes and the other advocating public policy. He’ll make money by joining some corporate boards. And he plans to write a book--”part memoir, part prescription.”

Things would be different, Wilson agrees, if he hadn’t already run once for president and fallen on his face. His face now would be fresh.

When he ran in 1995, throat surgery silenced him for three months. He also angered California Republicans by running after promising not to--and for being willing to turn over his office to a Democrat, Lt. Gov. Gray Davis.

Wilson’s now paying for those sins.

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The irony is that the 2000 presidential race is set up ideally for a former California governor, especially a Republican. The state’s GOP primary is winner-take-all, offering the largest bloc of national convention delegates. More important, California’s primary next year will be among the earliest, providing some candidate with instant credibility, if not an insurmountable lead.

The problem, in Wilson’s view, is that roughly 10 other states also are planning to hold their primaries the same day as California, March 7. They include New York, Massachusetts, Maryland, Florida and possibly New Jersey.

“It’s going to be a real television shootout,” Wilson says. “You’ll have to be on the air in L.A., San Francisco, New York, Boston, Philadelphia. . . . That’s about a $15-million tab. It’s horrendously expensive. So Round 1 is likely to be a knockout.”

Candidates--unless they’re self-financed, like publisher Steve Forbes--also are handicapped by an archaic campaign contribution limit of $1,000 per person. “That means 15,000 separate, maximum contributions,” Wilson calculates. “That’s crazy.

“I’ve waited too long. The last two years we kind of ran up the score [as governor] because it’s what I wanted to do. If you’re going to govern California, it’s a full-time job. But now it’s too late to raise that kind of money.”

Unlike Gov. Bush, Wilson doesn’t have a former president-father who can tap into a huge, nationwide fund-raising base.

Wilson estimates he could raise $5 million to $7 million, but “that isn’t going to do it.”

“I think there are a lot of people who are talking about running who aren’t being very realistic.”

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Wilson’s decision will have little impact on the Republican race, except for freeing up his faithful to support other candidates. He was barely a blip in national polls. Even in California, he badly trailed Bush.

But one of the most successful politicians in California history will hang it up at 65. A legislator, mayor, U.S. senator and governor, Wilson never was beaten by a Democrat.

It’s too bad he screwed up four years ago. A Wilson candidacy this time could have been fascinating. He had a good record as governor--school reformer, job stimulator, money manager. Sure, he can be terribly boring to listen to, but he’s also gutsy and exciting to watch, treading where other politicians don’t dare.

Without Wilson in the race, there may be no GOP contender who favors abortion rights. We certainly won’t hear a national debate over affirmative action and illegal immigration. “They’re intimidated by charges of racism,” he laments of Republicans.

His party has been too timid, he complains. “You have no right to ask for anyone’s vote unless you can explain clearly why they should give it to you.”

But Wilson is a political realist--not a perpetual candidate, not a Harold Stassen.