Darien Ahn

On Jan. 15, Larchmont’s Republican mayor Liz Feld released a statement announcing that she would not be running for the United States Senate.

Kirsten Gillibrand, New York Democrat, might have had a surprising opponent to deal with in her bid this year to be re-elected to the US Senate. Feld, before last week’s election, had contemplated a possible run for the US Senate seat against Gillibrand. 

Though Feld may have been a less prominent figure outside the small town of Larchmont, she had past experience in the larger world of New York state and national Republican politics. 

In a New York State Senate run in 2008 against Democrat Suzi Oppenheimer of Westchester, Feld lost by a margin of two to one. 

Despite this loss, Feld gained an endorsement from NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg during her candidacy, as well as much praise from other Republicans. 

In addition, Feld, who previously had worked as a press aide in George H.W. Bush’s administration, had contacts with numerous prominent politicians.

“You can’t just think of her as the mayor of Larchmont,” Ed Rollins, a national Republican strategist told City Hall News. “You have to think of her as someone who has been exposed to a lot of significant players…she’s been around politics a long time.”

An anonymous source close to Feld also told City Hall News that the fact that Feld was “similar in age and similar in background” yet had different ideology than Gillibrand meant that Feld could compete well in the run for US Senate. 

Before Feld made any final decision, well-known Republican leaders, such as Rudy Giuliani and United States Congressman Peter King had already announced that they would not be running for Gillibrand’s Senate seat.

Feld, however, would have had to work harder in order to garner enough support in areas where her presence was new. Other than her candidacy for the State Senate, Feld had not participated in any other run for political office outside of Larchmont. 

Aside from political qualifications and experience, Feld had other reasons that swayed her decision not to run.

Feld told Aman Ali of the Journal News, “I think the political climate is right and my message is right for New York, but I just don’t have the time.”

Since she has three children, including a young son who attends Hommocks Middle School, and a husband who often travels to Boston for work, Feld believed that a senate run, especially having to raise sufficient funding for her campaign, would create undue stress in her life.

             “The timing for me to be that candidate is not right,” Feld said. “I have been blessed with many personal and professional commitments, and they will likely require more of my attention this year than I could reasonably devote as a statewide candidate.”