NEW YORK (AP) - Jack Kemp, the Republican vice presidential nominee in 1996, emerged Thursday as a possible candidate on the Oct. 7 ballot to recall California Democratic Gov. Gray Davis.
Several of his supporters called Kemp on Thursday urging him to put his name on the ballot, according to three GOP officials with ties to the former Housing and Urban Development secretary. After one of the calls, Kemp chuckled and told an associate, ``Oh, my God.''
The associates said Kemp was flattered by the requests, but it was unclear how seriously he was considering the race. At least one senior Republican official close to Kemp began seeking advice from friends in GOP circles in case Kemp decides to run.
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Kemp, 68, is a founder of Empower America, a Washington-based conservative think tank. He served 18 years in the House as a congressman from western New York and was housing secretary in the first Bush administration. He is known as a moderate on social issues with a tax-cutting philosophy that appeals to the party's conservative base.
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