This was actually for the “official” GOP endorsement. Four candidates stepped up and went through the 10 counties to seek the endorsement of party reps, in the end Gibson has received the endorsement by a wide margin. Only one other candidate received support, another good guy and Tea Party activist named Pat Zeigler. A quote from Zeigler:
“The time I have spent with (Col. Chris Gibson) over the past few weeks has convinced me that he is the right man for the job and it will be a privilege to assist him in his congressional bid.”
As I said, Zeiglar is a good guy and his time will come, it is good to have him on the bench.
There will still be a primary if anyone seeks to challenge Gibson, but all three of the other contestants have come out in support of Gibson and will be rolling up there sleeves for him. It is very probable that Gibson will soon pick up the endorsements of the Conservative and Independence parties, making the likelihood of a primary challenge about 0%.
Primaries in NY are very late (9/14 this year, I believe), and IMHO do not give the primary winner enough time to pull a campaign together - all the organization and financing, like in 6 weeks? ROFL. In New York state you want to avoid a primary at all costs, it’s suicidal. The sooner you can rally behind a single candidate, the better.
So no, this will not be a NY23. Very much the opposite -
- Gibson is a solid conservative, not a Scozzafava RINO/DIABLO
- There is a solid GOP consensus in NY20 behind Gibson
- Gibson is a strong candidate whose views legitimately represent this center-right district
I’m very excited to live in NY20 where Gibson’s campaign will defintely be a big part of the GOP reclaiming the House this fall and replacing tax-and-spend liberals with small government conservatives. Personally I think there are 6-8 right-leaning districts in NYS alone that the Pubs could recapture if we get some more good candidates like Col. Gibson. But these good candidates will go nowhere if good guys like us don’t join the fight.
Do you feel it?
I assume he opposes homosexualizing the military?