Seán Kelly has said mounting support for Heather Humphreys should be taken with a “grain of salt,” even as his rival for Fine Gael’s nomination to contest the presidential election got the backing of more than 40 parliamentary party colleagues.
Ms Humphreys, a former minister, looks to have won the contest less than 24 hours after declaring her intention to run, with more than 40 TDs, Senators and MEPs now declaring their support for her.
The level of support means it appears impossible for Mr Kelly to get the 20 nominations he would require.
At the time of writing, the Ireland South MEP had the backing of six Fine Gael parliamentary party members including TDs Michael Murphy, Joe Cooney, Brian Brennan and Noel McCarthy, and senators Garret Ahearn and Michael Kennelly.
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Speaking to the Echo on Tuesday night, Mr Kelly insisted he was still in the race and played down speculation that Ms Humphreys had the support of the majority of the parliamentary party.
“Do you know, I’d take that with a grain of salt at this stage,” Mr Kelly said. “People can be quoted for saying things but you never know. We only started today, so we’ll keep working on it.”
The parliamentary party members publicly backing Ms Humphreys so far include Ministers Peter Burke, Helen McEntee and Patrick O’Donovan and junior ministers Neale Richmond, Hildegarde Naughton, Colm Brophy, John Cummins and Emer Higgins.
Also among her backers were TDs Emer Currie, John Paul O’Shea, David Maxwell, Jerry Buttimer, Paula Butterly, Grace Boland, Frank Feighan, Naoise O’Muirí, Catherine Callaghan, Alan Dillon, Keira Keogh, Maeve O’Connell, Pete Roche, James Geoghegan, Colm Burke, John Clendennan, Micheal Carrigy and Barry Ward.
Senators Seán Kyne, Maria Byrne, Nikki Bradley, Joe O’Reilly, Mark Duffy, Gareth Scahill, PJ Murphy, Cathal Byrne, Manus Boyle, Linda Nelson Murray and Noel O’Donovan also supported her.
Setting out her campaign on Tuesday morning, Ms Humphreys said that she has “never felt as good about taking on a challenge”.
“We’re living in an increasingly divisive world, and I believe that the President can be a unifying force in this country that really brings people together and throughout my political career, I have always sought to break down barriers and reach out that hand of friendship,” she said.
