Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney said she won’t unveil a primary challenge to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand today or tomorrow — nixing the timeframe her campaign spokesman had laid out last week.
Maloney adviser Paul Blank had said in published reports that the Silk Stocking District congresswoman would make her formal announcement “Monday or Tuesday” about a challenge to Gillibrand, a one-term upstate congresswoman who was tapped for the vacant senate seat by Gov. Paterson in January.
But asked by The Post yesterday outside a Diamond District Business Improvement District meeting if that timetable is still in effect, she said, “No, it is not.”
“This is (an) official government meeting” she was attending, she said. “We’ll get back to you on politics in a separate way.”
With speculation continuing to mount about whether Maloney will jump in the race – in the face of resistance from most New York Democratic leaders and the White House _ she today declined to say if she would announce this week, saying, “This week we are confronting health care (reform).”
Maloney supporters are strongly encouraging her to run against Gillibrand, who is trying to re-establish herself after a rocky first few months – and who public polls show is little known and potentially vulnerable to a primary challenge.
But some New York political insiders – including Gillibrand detractors – have questioned whether Maloney will pull the trigger, noting she’s put off her announcement at least once before.