WASHINGTON, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger refuses to rule out a run for the U.S. Senate in 2010, but says he wants to concentrate for now on running California.
Schwarzenegger spoke to NBC News' "Meet the Press" Sunday.
Asked by moderator Tim Russert whether he would take on Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer if she runs for re-election in 2010, Schwarzenegger said, "I'm not ruling anything out, but I'm not really thinking about any of that. I'm thinking about now moving California forward, making sure that we create more accountability in education in California, fixing our healthcare problem to insure everybody that is uninsured ... I think these are the very important issues."
He said he would remain a Republican, but did not know yet which GOP candidate he would support in the 2008 presidential election.
Schwarzenegger said the key issues will be the environment, global warming, economic stimulation, jobs "and really helping our most vulnerable citizens. We've got to concentrate on those things and also rebuild our infrastructure. Candidates that talk about those issues are the candidates that I will be looking seriously at."
The Austrian-born governor cannot run because the Constitution requires that a president be born in the United States. Schwarzenegger said any debate on changing that requirement is for the future, and would not affect him.
