Former Governor Gaston Caperton says he does not want the title of ‘U.S. Senator.’
“I think I had a great eight years as Governor and I think that’s probably where my political career began and will probably end,” Caperton told MetroNews on Monday.
He was in Charleston to attend the Inauguration Ceremony for West Virginia’s 35th Governor, Earl Ray Tomblin.
He sat near the podium at the State Capitol along with former Governor Bob Wise and former Governor and current U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller.
Last week, Senator Rockefeller announced that he will not be seeking a sixth term in the U.S. Senate in 2014.
“Those will be big shoes to fill and so, I think, it’ll be interesting to see what happens in the next few years,” Governor Caperton said of Senator Rockefeller’s pending departure.
Since serving as West Virginia’s Governor, Caperton says he has focused on education and will continue to do so.
He says he plans to one day retire in the Mountain State but, as for any U.S. Senate run, “I don’t think that’s something I’ll be doing,” Caperton said.
Former U.S. Senator Carte Goodwin, though, is not ruling out a Senate run.
He was appointed to the Senate and served for four months following the death of longtime U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd in 2010, before current U.S. Senator Joe Manchin was elected to the position.
“I know, working with the folks I’ve had the privilege of working with, what a profound impact you can have on people’s lives in a position of public service,” Goodwin said on Monday.
He was asked whether he’ll be launching a Senate campaign soon.
“There will be plenty of time for people to make decisions like that,” Goodwin said. “It’s the kind of thing that anybody would be flattered to have their name contemplated for a position like that.”
At this point, Second District Congressman Shelley Moore Capito, a Republican, is the only person who has announced plans to run for the U.S. Senate in 2014.
Senator Rockefeller was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1984.