Chris Gibson, We Hardly Knew Ye

In a real shocker to us political junkies, Chris Gibson has taken his helmet out of the ring.

Less than three months after launching an exploratory committee for a potential gubernatorial campaign in 2018, U.S. Rep. Chris Gibson said Monday he won’t run governor.

Gibson, R-Kinderhook, said he’ll finish his third term in the House of Representatives — he already announced he won’t seek re-election this year — and will begin working as a visiting lecturer on leadership at Williams College in February 2017.

OK, but what's the real reason? Wait for it, wait for it.

He also wants to spend more time with his wife, Mary Jo, and their three children.

To quote Charlie Brown: Auuuuugh! Maybe he really does, but Jesus can't you come up with something a tad less cliched. Anyway here's a link to a longer, more in-depth piece in the TU.

Maybe Gibson's concern is more with internal Republican politics. It is a party, after all, whose voters just showered Donald Trump with 60 percent of the presidential primary vote, emboldening the lunatic fringe headed by Carl Paladino.

Gibson is no fan of Trump, as he made clear with me in December and has repeated in subsequent interviews. He doesn't like Trump's tone and is worried that the bombast of the Republican race is alienating middle-of-the-road voters.

"There's no aspiration, no inspiration, in these campaigns," Gibson told me. 

When I heard this on the radio, I joked that it cleared the path for Carl Paladino. It's not so funny when both these articles mention him as a possible candidate. Chris, Just say it. Trump's voters are nihilists. And I know nihilists, believe me. They're not voting for anything, they're voting against everything. 

I never would have voted for him because of his gun position. Still would've liked to see a somewhat sane Republican running.