Former Rep. Harold Ford Jr. said Tuesday that Democrats are "scared" heading into this fall's election and that he decided not to run for the Senate from New York because he feared his party would lose the seat after a tough primary."The fall is going to be a tough, tough fall for whatever Democrat emerges," Ford said during an appearance on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," his first since announcing Monday night that he is not running. "It would have been a tough brutal fight."
Ford, who ran unsuccessfully for the Senate from Tennessee in 2006, denied reports that he was scared off by the potential candidacy of Mort Zuckerman -- who is believed to have courted many of Ford's potential fundraisers and supporters -- insisting that he would have been able to raise plenty of money regardless of who else entered the race.
"Mort will spend his own money. Mort's a billionaire," Ford said. "I wish we could all be billionaires."
Rather, Ford stuck to the explanation he gave The New York Times on Monday night. "I'm a Democrat, I'm an independent Democrat, and I didn't want a Republican to win," he said.
But Ford offered little support to the candidate he would have challenged, New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, or to the Democratic Party he says he's looking out for.
"Voters don't know the junior senator," he said, referring to Gillibrand. "They can't name one positive outcome from her."
Ford also indicated that Republican Sen. Scott Brown's win in Massachusetts made a Republican win in New York possible.
"They're scared," he said of the state's Democratic establishment. "For anyone to believe our normal messaging will win this election ... they are kidding themselves."