The Bachelorette fans apparently aren't the only ones pining for fourth-season runner-up Jason Mesnick to star in The Bachelor's next installment.

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"He's on my short list," The Bachelor and The Bachelorette host Chris Harrison told film.com on Thursday.  "We would be bona fide idiots not to consider him for the show."

The Bachelorette fourth-season star DeAnna Pappas accepted a marriage proposal from Jesse Csincsak instead of Mesnick during the show's recent pre-taped finale

However the 31-year-old account executive from Kirkland, WA subsequently told Reality TV World he'd "consider" the opportunity to star in The Bachelor if approached by ABC.  He added that spending time with his 3-year-old son Ty is currently the most important thing to him, and Harrison said that shouldn't stop Mesnick from appearing on the show.

"Ty would have to take center stage," Harrison said, adding that The Bachelor could film in Seattle should Mesnick be cast. 

Harrison even offered the services of him and his wife as possible babysitters.

"We have two kids, Ty would fit right in," he told film.com.

In addition, Harrison told film.com The Bachelorette fourth-season third-place finisher Jeremy Anderson is also in the running to star in The Bachelor's next installment. 

ABC announced in May that The Bachelor's thirteenth season would not air as part of the network's Fall 2008 primetime programming schedule and will instead air as midseason programming.  The move represents the first time since 2005 that the long-running reality dating series will not be part of ABC's fall lineup.

According to ABC Entertainment president Stephen McPherson, a desire to make sure the show had enough time to find the right bachelor contributed to the scheduling decision. 

"We want to make sure that we don't just have it on the schedule, announce it, and then be like, 'Oh, now we've got to find the guy,'" McPherson explained during a Television Critics Association summer press tour appearance on Wednesday, according to iF Magazine.
About The Author: Christopher Rocchio
Christopher Rocchio is an entertainment reporter for Reality TV World and has covered the reality TV genre for several years.