Chris Matthews Senate Run? Report Says He's Staffing Up... UPDATE: Matthews Denies

Update 4:40 PM: Matthews had denied reports that he's hiring staff for a Senate campain in a statement posted on FiveThirtyEight.com, the site that originally reported the news.

"It is absolutely not true," said Matthews, in a statement.

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Update: FiveThirtyEight has dialed back its report on Chris Matthews' potential senate run.

[EDIT -- 8:26 AM. I am changing the reporting and headline slightly to more cautiously reflect what our sources are telling us. Matthews, we have strong reason to believe, is hiring staff for a run at the Senate, although there have certainly been candidates in the past who have staffed up but subsequently elected not to run. -Nate]

For more, check out Jane Hamsher's new piece, "How Matthews Can Beat Specter"

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FiveThirtyEight's original report:

Chris Matthews is in.

FiveThirtyEight has been hearing this for some time, but it took a trip to Georgia among the Georgia-runoff-congregated and well-connected Obama organizer throng to confirm.

According to multiple sources, who confirmed the Tip O'Neill staffer-cum-MSNBC host has negotiated with veteran Obama staffers to enlist in his campaign, Chris Matthews will run for United States Senate in Pennsylvania in 2010. Matthews, 62, will run as a Democrat. Arlen Specter, the aging Republican incumbent, will be 80 if he chooses to run for re-election.

Recent polls suggest that Matthews will have a hard time unseating Sen. Arlen Specter. Quinnipiac gives the Republican incumbent a double-digit lead:

In an early look at the 2010 U.S. Senate race, Republican incumbent Sen. Arlen Specter leads TV commentator Chris Matthews, a possible Democratic challenger, 45 - 33 percent. Sen. Specter leads 72 - 9 percent among Republicans and 45 - 27 percent among independent voters, while Matthews leads 55 - 25 percent among Democrats.

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Specter gets a 62 - 25 percent approval rating and by a 56 - 23 percent margin, voters have a favorable opinion of him.

For Matthews, 60 percent say they don't know enough about him to form an opinion.

The LA Times adds that Matthews will likely face stiff competition for the Democratic nomination.

Leading the pack of prospects -- at least in celebrity -- is Chris Matthews, the MSNBC "Hardball" host and a former Capitol Hill Democratic staffer. The Philadelphia native has been toying with a run for months, and this week he sat down with state Democrats to discuss the prospect of taking on the five-term GOP senator.

Others considered in the mix include Rep. Joe Sestak, who is sitting on $3 million in campaign funds; state Rep. Josh Shapiro; and U.S. Rep. Allyson Y. Schwartz, a two-term Philadelphia area lawmaker who has moved up quickly on the Hill and has a Rolodex full of prospective donors from her unsuccessful 2000 Senate run. "We'll see," she said about a repeat bid.

"There are a lot of compelling reasons why serious Democrats would aspire to run in 2010," said Pennsylvania Democratic Party Chairman T.J. Rooney, who said Matthews had been in Pennsylvania Monday meeting with other Democratic leaders.

Comments

[WallyGee]

Wonder if anyone will vote for the guy with the tingling leg. Since no one watches his lame TV show.

He's down up there with Olberman as to who has the fewest viewers.

[Okieborn]

GO CHRIS !!!!
WE LOVE GREAT DEMOCRATS !!!

[Rokgoo]

I would support him 100%.

[Seldon]

He is knowledgeable, and I think he would make an average Senator. Having said that, I think that means way more about the average Senator than it says about Chris Mathews.

[RobtBrock]

Matthews is a hyper-sexist chump. Stay in your place, Foo...

[aspecialed]

Go Tweety!

[lilsongbird101]

Hi Chris, so enjoyed your news coverage on the campaign trail!

[pa2vote]

Chris Matthews run for Senate..yea right, if he does I hope Arlen Specter beats him. I WILL NOT SUPPORT or VOTE for Chris Matthews!

[JohnCharles123]

I think that Chris should go into politics. He's way too involved in it to be an objective journalist. He's one of the primary news casters giving journalism a bad name. He has become a propagandist.while maintaining the title of news journalist.

[sonriseranch]

Do people not remember that Chris Matthews voted for George Bush over Al Gore? What kind of judgement is that? I was a die-hard democrat until pundits like him made me aware that the liberal side of the press was acting as hateful as the far-right. He's not exactly the type to reach across the aisle. I think Pennsylvania is a smarter state than to vote for him. Spector is beloved there, and not a bad senator. Is he even a resident of Pennsylvania, I thought he lived in Maryland?

[adamsmith3]

A talk show host as a political candidate is one of the worst ideas possible politically. All the opposition research has to do is run through the many tapes of Hardball and find on each episode the point at which Matthews inevitably puts his foot in his mouth. Chris Matthews seems like a nice and well-intentioned guy to me, but honestly I find him a little unbalanced. He has a flair for hyperbole, comparing Obama's race speech to the Gettysburg address and talking about tingles up his leg. And he has a knack for bluntly saying some stupid things: that "Hillary only got her Senate seat because Bill messed around behind her back." It's that type of blunt stupidity that shows that Matthews is probably a pretty honest and simple-hearted guy, but that never seems to succeed in politics. I like that he can play the role of the moderate liberal on MSNBC and not get so mean-spirited and narcissistic like Olbermann does.

[OHIOCITIZEN]

I think Matthews would make a decent Senator, and a solid candidate versus Specter. The Democratic Senate primary in Pennsylvania may be rather crowded. If Matthews gets a one-on-one with a Pittsburgh/Western PA candidate in the Primary, he'd probably win as he's very well-known in the Philly area, from where he hails. In a crowded Primary field with multiple candidates from Southeast PA, Matthews would likely enjoy an edge on the other Philly-based candidates in terms of name recognition throughout the rest of the state. Unless Governor Rendell runs, I think Matthews may be the most electable candidate the Democrats can field against Specter.

Matthews is a moderate/liberal Democrat who would fit fairly neatly into the center of the Democratic Senate caucus. I think his voting record in the Senate would likely be somewhat idiosyncratic or iconoclastic and would certainly fall to the right of Russ Feingold and Chris Dodd, but substantially to the left of Evan Bayh. In fact, his voting record would probably be to the left of Hillary Clinton were they to serve together.

Clearly Matthews preferred Obama to Clinton for the Democratic nomination this year, as did most liberal/progressive Democrats. Clinton was preferred by the establishment elements, the older, more centrist and conservative elements of the party. My admiration for him only increased once it became clear he preferred Obama to Clinton.

[Granmapat]

I hope he does run. He is bright and articulate and well versed on Democratic positions. He would be good for the Senate. As far as Arlan S, it is time we came into the 21st century and retire the old guard around the country. They are all has-beens with no idea what the youth really want and what is good for our country beyond the Senate. We want now a younger Senate with new ideas. I can say that since I am a Senior Citizen. I know how elders cam be get held up in old ways and this is what is happening the old White House.

[camroc]

I really wish he would run and get the heck off Hardball. I've gotten so sick of him talking over his guests that I've about quit watching the show unless there's a guest host.

Mike Barnacle would be a good replacement, or almost anyone else, really.

[SparkyDash]

Run, Tweet, run!