Three-time World Series champion and noted Trump supporter Curt Schilling said Sunday he is "absolutely considering" a congressional run in his home state of Arizona.
Schilling, who flirted with a 2018 Massachusetts Senate run against Elizabeth Warren, told Armed American Radio’s Mark Walters he is "considering going back to Arizona and running for a congressional seat." He said his goal is to flip one of the five seats held by Democrats.
"I haven’t said anything publicly, but I’m considering going back to Arizona and running for a congressional seat, one of the blue ones," Schilling said in the Sunday interview. "It’s something that my wife and I have talked about, and she’s now becoming more and more pumped at the potential. Obviously we’re still quite a few discussions away, but yeah, it’s something we’re absolutely considering."
Schilling expressed his hesitance to "put his family through" the same scrutiny that they endured when he floated a potential Massachusetts Senate run. He said a move back to Arizona may be easier given his strong ties to the state. Schilling’s father, Cliff Schilling, a master sergeant with the 101st Airborne Division, was stationed at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage, Alaska when Curt was born. The family moved multiple times, eventually settling in Phoenix, Arizona. Schilling went on to play high school and collegiate baseball in Arizona before spending 20 years in the Major Leagues where he won three World Series, including one with his hometown Arizona Diamondbacks.
He was inducted into the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame in 2011.
Schilling’s political involvement dates back to his playing days in the MLB. He campaigned for George W. Bush in 2004 as a member of the Boston Red Sox, and rumors about his own candidacy surfaced as early as 2008.
Schilling has previously found himself in hot water because of his status as an outspoken conservative.
He was fired from his position as an ESPN broadcast analyst in April of 2016 after sharing an post questioning transgenderism on Facebook. When ESPN’s Jemele Hill avoided termination after calling President Trump a white supremacist, Schilling told CNN he was not fired for speaking his mind, but rather "for being a conservative."
While it is unclear which seat Schilling will target, Arizona’s 1st congressional district, currently held by Democrat Tom O’Halleran, voted for President Trump in 2016.