Nearing ’08 Decision, Pataki Heads to New Hampshire and Iowa

ABC News’ Teddy Davis and Karuna Seshasai Report: As he nears a decision on whether to run for president in 2008, Gov. George Pataki (R-NY) is planning to travel to New Hampshire and Iowa on Wednesday.

"The governor is weighing his options and making the decision with his family," Pataki spokeswoman Alicia Preston told ABC News. "Ultimately, he and his family will be the ones to make the final decision as to whether he will run. He is thinking about it and is appreciative of all the support he has received."

Prior to Wednesday’s 1:00 pm ET swearing-in for new members of the New Hampshire State Legislature, Pataki plans to meet with GOP state senators and state representatives at 12 noon in the legislative office building in Concord, NH. Pataki then heads to Des Moines, IA to thank Republican activists.

Pataki, who recently returned from a post-election visit to Iraq, stumped in the Granite State 11 times in 2006. Despite the massive setbacks that the GOP suffered in the Granite State, the outgoing New York governor thought it was important to thank supporters of his Freedom PAC which donated $100,000 to New Hampshire GOPers over the course of the 2006 campaign cycle.

Pataki, who visited Iowa 9 times in 2006, recently suffered setbacks in the Hawkeye State when three prominent GOP activists decided they would not go forward with him through 2008.

Craig Schoenfeld, a lawyer and lobbyist who was President Bush’s political director in Iowa in 2000, resigned as executive director of Pataki’s Iowa office.  Pataki also recently lost the support of Ed Failor Jr., the leader of Iowans for Tax Relief and a board member for Iowa Right to Life, and Loras Schulter, a member of the Iowa Republican Party’s State Central Committee.

Asked if Pataki might do as Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) recently did and not get into the 2008 presidential race, Pataki spokeswoman Alicia Preston told ABC News, "There’s always a possibility."