Kirkpatrick Opts Not to Run

WASHINGTON--Jeane J. Kirkpatrick, the conservative former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said Sunday she would not seek the Republican nomination for president in 1988.

In a statement, released by her spokesman David Carmen, Kirkpatrick said: "I've carefully considered this issue, and firmly decided for personal and political reasons, not to seek the Republican nomination. Naturally, I'm grateful for the confidence of those who urged me to become a candidate."

Carmen said Kirkpatrick made the decision after discussing a possible bid with family, friends and advisers at her home in Bethesda, Md.

"It was a three-day vigil that started Thursday night with people from all over the country calling her and urging her to run and people sending telegrams and messages," he said.

Kirkpatrick based her decision on a "multitude of reasons, personal and political," Carmen said. "I think the lateness of the date precluded a practical run at this point."

Carmen said financial concerns were not a factor in the decision, since the campaign believed it could raise about $3 million immediately--enough, he said, "to make a credible national bid."

But Carmen said that Kirkpatrick decided that she did not want "to hurt any candidates in the race."

It was assumed widely that her candidacy would be a blow to the hopes of Rep. Jack Kemp of New York, who is trying to unite conservatives behind his bid.

"Jeane Kirkpatrick has been a dominant force in American foreign policy," Kemp said in a statement issued by his spokesman John Rand. "She will continue to be a dominant force despite her decision not to run for president. I will continue to count on her guidance and advice on foreign and defense policy."

Besides Kemp, former Delaware Governor Pete du Pont, Vice President George Bush, former Secretary of State Alexander M. Haig Jr. and evangelist Pat Robertson already have entered the GOP race. Senate Republican leader Bob Dole of Kansas has said he will declare his candidacy Nov. 9.