No, New California Poll Doesn’t Mean Condi Rice Is Running For Senate

FILE - In this March 15, 2014, file photo, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice gestures while speaking before the California Republican Party 2014 Spring Convention in Burlingame, Calif. Former Florida Gov. Je... FILE - In this March 15, 2014, file photo, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice gestures while speaking before the California Republican Party 2014 Spring Convention in Burlingame, Calif. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush on Thursday, Jan. 22, 2015, tapped Rice to serve as chairman of his education foundation, turning over the organization to the former diplomat and academic who remains popular inside the Republican Party. (AP Photo/Ben Margot, File) MORE LESS
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A new poll released Wednesday showed former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice leading almost two dozen names in the race for Sen. Barbara Boxer’s (D-CA) Senate seat, including California Attorney General Kamala Harris (D).

But Rice’s chief of staff said that the former secretary of State still isn’t interested in jumping into the race and is happing teaching at Stanford University.

Of the 18 potential candidates listed, the poll found that 49 percent said they would support Rice if she decided to run for Senate followed by Harris, who has announced her candidacy, with 46 percent of those polled.

Rice has not indicated plans to run for Senate and the poll doesn’t seem to have changed that.

“The poll doesn’t change her position about running for Senate,” Rice’s chief of staff, Georgia Godfrey, told TPM in an email. “She plans to stay at Stanford.”

Since Harris announced her candidacy, she’s regularly announced high-profile Democratic endorsements while other top potential tier candidates like billionaire and environmentalist billionaire Tom Steyer have decided not to run for Senate. Most polling has also shown Harris leading potential contenders.

Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) has also shown interest in running for Senate but as of yet hasn’t made a final decision.

Most of the major names floated for running for Boxer’s seat have been Democrats with only a few Republicans even mentioned as serious contenders. But Rice hasn’t used that opening to even entertain the possibility of running for Senate. Godfrey previously told The Hill newspaper that Rice was not interested in running for Senate.

“It’s not even a consideration,” Godfrey said of Rice’s thinking to The Hill. “She’s happy here at Stanford!”

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