(TVCC) Gov. Benson DuBois is considering an independent run for the presidency in 2002.

WASHINGTON — In a stunning announcement that may have dramatic consequences for the 2002 presidential election, Democratic Gov. Benson DuBois indicated today that he is exploring an independent candidacy in this fall's general election.

"Governor DuBois is dissatisfied with the choice being offered to America's voters this year," said the governor's press secretary, Pete Downing.

Should Gov. DuBois enter the race, political analysts say, this popular moderate governer of a populous state could potentially draw voters away from both President Bartlet and his presumptive Republican challenger, Gov. Robert Ritchie (R-Fla.).

"DuBois hurts both candidates because he reduces the other candidates' freedom to move to the center in the general election," said University of Minnesota political science professor Leslie Bruvold. "In addition, he could take his state's Republican-leaning numerous electoral votes away from Ritchie. And his status as an African-American candidate would undercut Bartlet's traditional Democratic base."

Many political analysts agree with Mr. Bruvold's assessment, albeit in less strong terms. "As strong as DuBois is from a positioning standpoint, he still is an independent candidate, and that will hurt him," said UC-Berkeley political scientist Philip Gruen.

Nobody from either the Bartlet or Ritchie camps would comment on the record about the possible DuBois run. However, Ritchie campaign sources indicated that Gov. DuBois' spotty record as budget director for former Gov. James Gatling, as well as his controversial choice to run against Gov. Gatling in 1986, would be raised should DuBois officially enter the race.

DuBois, in his third and final six-year term as governer of his populous and well-known state, has won wide recognition from state lawmakers for his down-to-earth management style, which allies say stems from his years as Gov. Gatling's advisor and butler, as well as his three years as budget director and two years as lieutenant governor. Despite being slowed by a mild stroke in 2000, he continues to be seen as a remarkably popular and effective leader.

However, opponents still claim that DuBois has no loyalty and that his position as Governor, despite two landslide re-elections, is tarnished by his initial gubernatorial run in 1986. In that campaign, he took on Gov. Gatling, his mentor. DuBois was declared governor only after a disputed, cliffhanger election that left observers puzzled for months. DuBois was finally declared the victor by the state's supreme court, but only after lengthy debates over the validity of ballots in several of the state's many counties.

"Benson stabbed Governor Gatling in the back by running against him, and then stole his office away from him," said one-time Gatling aide Clayton Endicott III, a longtime rival of Gov. DuBois.

But Gov. Gatling, who served as U.S. Ambassador to a populous, exotic nation until his retirement from public life in 1998, heartily endorses the candidacy of his friend and rival. "Benson raised my daughter Katie, brought me food on a tray, balanced my state's budget, served as my lieutenant governor, and beat me in the general election," Gov. Gatling said in an interview. "He can do it all. If he doesn't end up as president, Bartlet ought to hire him as his butler. They need more African-Americans in the west wing."