Inside Politics

Katz says no

Republican Sam Katz, a three-time Philadelphia mayoral candidate, has decided not to enter the race for a U.S. House seat.

“I don’t think this is the right time for me to do another race,” Mr. Katz said yesterday in an interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer. “The last 12 months have been about as stressful as they could have been. I hopefully will have another opportunity to do something, but I just felt it would be better to give myself and my family the opportunity to do other things for a while.”

The race for the U.S. House seat held by Democrat Joseph M. Hoeffel has emerged as a high-profile election for both parties since Mr. Hoeffel entered the U.S. Senate race against Republican incumbent Arlen Specter, the Inquirer said.

Montgomery County Republican Party Chairman Frank Bartle tried to persuade Mr. Katz, fresh off his second losing mayoral election against Democrat John Street, to run in the swing district, which encompasses northeast Philadelphia and eastern and northern Montgomery County.

With Mr. Katz out of the picture, ophthalmologist Melissa Brown has emerged as a front-runner for the Republican nomination.

Howard and Hillary

Howard Dean may turn to Hillary Rodham Clinton as his vice presidential candidate, and “Hillary might just accept,” Dick Morris writes in the New York Post.

Mr. Dean would benefit from having a woman on the ticket, and it would guarantee the support of Bill Clinton and his backers, Mr. Morris said.

“Why might Hillary accept? She suddenly has a new potential rival for the 2008 nomination — Al Gore.

“The former vice president’s un-retirement, signaled by his endorsement of Howard Dean, makes him a potent possible rival for Hillary. With his bold support of the peace movement’s darling, Dean, Gore may get an edge among the party’s new masters — its left wing.

“Hillary may also worry that Dean might choose someone like Gen. [Wesley] Clark VP. Such a choice would immediately lift Clark into contention for the 2008 nomination, making it a tough three-way race where it had once appeared a cakewalk for the former first lady.”

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