Former California Gov. Edmund G. "Jerry" Brown Jr. announced he will forgo a Senate campaign next year and instead has formed an exploratory committee to look into running for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Brown, in a 10-page letter sent to his supporters and faxed to the news media, said Tuesday he was only exploring the possibility of running.But officials of the Federal Election Commission in Washington said his application form said nothing about being exploratory and was filled out as if he were formally announcing his candidacy.
The form listed his campaign group as "Brown for President," listed a treasurer as its officer and was filled out as if he were an active candidate, an FEC official said.
A presidential candidacy would be Brown's third and he would become the second major Democrat in the field.
In his letter, Brown said he is considering running because the public is fed up with the political process as now organized.
"I became convinced that the whole crisis must be confronted forcefully at the level where it can be properly debated and engaged: the arena of national politics," he said.
In line with this grass-roots style campaign, Brown said if he decides to run he will accept no contribution greater than $100.
Brown, the son of another former California governor, Pat Brown, twice was elected governor in the 1970s but ended his career with defeats for the presidential nomination and the U.S. Senate.
After nearly a decade away from politics, he returned in 1989 to head the state's Democratic Party and was considering running for the Senate in 1992 when California has the rare opportunity to elect both senators. He quit the party post in February.