With Erskine Bowles out of the running, the door is wide open for a Brad Miller candidacy for governor. That’s my take. Miller’s? He said he hasn’t quite decided whether to run. “I’ve gotten a lot of encouragement that I haven’t solicited,” he says. “I’m thinking very hard about it. I know I need to make a decision very quickly.”

Don’t forget, he just reminded me when we spoke on the phone, that a week ago he was announcing he wouldn’t run for re-election to Congress … and his assumption in making that announcement was that he would never again be a candidate for public office.

Back in those olden days — a week ago — we chatted about the prospects out on the punditry/advocacy circuit for an ex-congressman who’s expert on banking issues and voice for progressive interests. Now the subject is the Executive Mansion and leader of the Democratic Party back home in Raleigh. “I know that state government affects North Carolinians as much as what happens in Congress,” Miller said.

It sounded to me like a former state legislator … who’s been in Washington for the last decade … getting pumped up to come back — but we’ll see. At any rate, Miller would enter a Democratic primary for governor as the clear progressive favorite against Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton and Rep. Bill Faison. And if former state Treasurer Richard Moore gets in, he’d make a trio of moderate-to-conservative candidates against Miller.

***

MoveOn.org just sent along its “Go Brad, Go” sentiments —

Following the news that North Carolina Governor Bev Purdue is not running for reelection and Democrat Erskine Bowles has no intentions of running, MoveOn released survey results showing that their North Carolina members overwhelmingly want Rep. Brad Miller to run. Over 87% of MoveOn’s members that took part in the survey said they want Rep. Brad Miller to run for North Carolina’s Governor. MoveOn has 147,000 members across the state of North Carolina.

Below are a handful comments from North Carolina MoveOn members reacting to the survey.
– “Brad should certainly consider it; we need a strong, effective Democrat who supports education, jobs and the middle class,” said Adrienne, a MoveOn member from Raleigh.

– “Brad’s such a stellar people’s representative that it would be a tragedy to lose him from the NC political scene,” said Leslie, a MoveOn member from Greensboro.

– “Brad should run because he’s honest, trustworthy and fights hard for what he believes in. I have the utmost respect for him and am thankful for what he has done for North Carolina,” said Merrill, a MoveOn member from Greensboro.

Full email below.

————— Forwarded message —————

Dear MoveOn member,
North Carolina Representative Brad Miller, one of the top Wall Street reformers in the nation, just announced that he’s not running for re-election because redistricting had him set to face another Democrat in a primary. North Carolina Governor Bev Purdue also just announced that she won’t be seeking re-election.

Miller hasn’t decided whether or not to run for governor, but public opinion could influence his decision. We’re curious what MoveOn members who live in the area think. Please take a minute to complete our brief, two-question survey on the race.
Click here to weigh in on whether Brad Miller should run for governor.

Brad Miller authored the bill in Congress that would break up the big Wall Street banks and prevent future bailouts. He also fought to make it easier for North Carolinians to “Move Our Money” from big banks that gamble away our money to smaller community banks. So please let us know whether you’d like to see him run for governor.

Thanks for all you do.

—Adam R., Wes, Elena, Marika, and the rest of the team