June 17, 1999
Web posted at: 5:07 p.m. EDT (2107 GMT)

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, June 17) -- Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah may launch a late and admittedly long shot bid for the presidency, Republican sources said Thursday.

GOP sources, The Salt Lake Tribune and Roll Call, a newspaper that covers Capitol Hill, all say Hatch has taken preliminary steps to construct a campaign.

Sen. Orrin Hatch is considering a bid for the White House

Asked whether he was thinking about entering the race, Hatch said: "I've had people come to me and I'm certainly courteously listening. I'm not pushing them away. I'm just listening."

If he enters the 65-year-old Hatch faces a crowded field where several better-known candidates already are struggling to raise money, pay for staff and attract support.

Texas Gov. George W. Bush enjoys a substantial lead in both polling and fund-raising; of the other major candidates, only former Red Cross Chairwoman Elizabeth Dole regularly breaks into double digits in presidential preference polls.

Hatch also faces re-election to the Senate in 2000, but a recently enacted Utah law would allow him to run for both offices at the same time.

Hatch has said he would be "the longest of the long shots." He is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and may best be known for his strong questioning of Anita Hill's sexual harassment claims during the 1991 confirmation hearings of Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas.

Others vying for the GOP nomination include businessman Steve Forbes, former Vice President Dan Quayle, former Tennessee Gov. Lamar Alexander, conservative activists Gary Bauer and Pat Buchanan and Sen. Robert Smith of New Hampshire.

Vice President Al Gore announced his candidacy Wednesday for the Democratic presidential nomination, also being sought by Sen. Bill Bradley of New Jersey.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Thursday, June 17, 1999

• House approves NRA-backed 24-hour gun show checks
• Gore, on campaign stump, says no return to 'old and broken policies of past'
• Transcript: Al Gore's chat with AllPolitics
• Election briefs: News on Quayle, Dole and Bradley
• Hatch may join already-crowded GOP presidential field
• State polls give early glimpse at electoral break down
• Hatch demands conclusion to Justice probe of Starr
• Holbrooke faces GOP grilling on ethics charges
• At fund-raiser, Forbes raises $1 million for 2000 presidential bid
• U.S. on road to online voting
• Vietnam crypt at Tomb of the Unknowns to remain empty
• Gore and Bush: Two slick, made-for-TV campaigns solidify candidates' front-runner status
• House panel OKs bill that would prevent federal shutdowns
• Senate considers loan guarantees for steel, oil and gas
• Gore sees boost from first lady in Senate race
• REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK: A nostalgic stroll and mob control
• House panel, Clinton administration explore Social Security compromise
• Republicans use Gore's words against him
• Ickes, a tenacious operative, Mrs. Clinton's 'oak tree' in New York
• Education Department lowers fees on government loans
• Summers says his challenge will be to stay the course
• Gore balances Clinton loyalty, independence
• Secrets make Washington world's 'shredder capital'
• Medical privacy debate hits snag over abortion
• Senate Democrats block House-passed GOP Social Security plan

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