ALBUQUERQUE, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson Thursday disputed a Fox News report that he has decided to seek the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008.
"I am running," Fox quoted Richardson as saying. Fox said Richardson plans to file papers in January for an exploratory committee.
A Richardson spokesman told the Albuquerque Tribune the governor did not say definitively he is running for the nomination.
"The governor didn't say that," said spokesman Gilbert Gallegos. "He said, like he's been saying, that he'll make a decision in January."
Richardson plans a trip to New Hampshire, the first primary state, later this month.
Gallegos issued a statement saying that "comments from the (Fox News) interview were taken out of context based on a hypothetical question" about Richardson's strengths if he were to run for president.
Fox's Web site quoted Richardson as saying: "I am Hispanic, which I believe is an asset. But I'm not running as an Hispanic. I am running as an American who is proud to be Hispanic."
