Posted on 02/22/2011 11:09:52 AM PST by neverdem
Republican leaders from New York's 26th district have picked a candidate to run in the upcoming special election for the seat.
The district has been without representation since former Rep. Chris Lee left the House on Feb. 9 after the website Gawker.com reported the married Republican solicited a romantic encounter over the Internet, even sending the woman a photo of himself where he is shirtless.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) has 30 days to call a special election after a vacancy is declared, although it's unclear when that will happen.
Meanwhile, GOP leaders from the seven counties in the district picked state Assemblywoman Jane Corwin as their nominee during a meeting in Geneseo on Monday night.
Corwin said she was "humbled" by their support and touted her rating as the "the second most conservative member" of the state Assembly by the New York State Conservative Party.
"I know we need to slash federal spending, balance the budget, end the bailouts, take leftover money from the Obama stimulus package to pay down the deficit and support repealing Obamacare," she said in a statement.
"Demanding fiscal responsibility in Washington and creating jobs in our communities in Western New York will be my priorities should I be this region’s Representative in Congress.”
The National Republican Congressional Committee called Corwin a "strong conservative candidate."
"She understands that the best ideas come from outside Washington and so do the best candidates," Andrea Bozek, an NRCC spokeswoman, said in a statement.
Democrats haven't yet picked a candidate to run in the Republican-leaning district.
ping
The article says it’s Republican-leaning... is that the case? Same was said about NY-23 as well.
Is she the real deal, or another Dede Scozzafava?
Real deal and then some. Great news.
I'm in NYC, so I can't say for certain. If I had to bet, they have the numbers in registered pubbies and Conservatives. It's not different from the rest of the country. Cities are lefty havens. Rural is conservative. Statewide races are often decided by the suburbs.
Agreed. Major upgrade!
Dede Scozzafava got the NRA endorsement with a lifetime A rating. Other than that she was a bigtime RINO.
The previous member was able to be elected as a freshman in 2008, a year very unfavorable for the GOP, so that may be a good indication of its leanings. However...in a special election, that kind of goes out the window as turnout can be lopsided.
It hasn’t elected a Democrat Congressman since 1968.
This district really shouldn’t elect a Democrat, though it’s been rather wobbly in recent years. Democrat Jack Davis dumped tons of cash attacking Tom Reynolds in 2004 and got 44%. Then the Foley scandal broke and Reynolds nearly lost to Davis, winning only 52%-48%. That likely prompted Reynolds to hang it up. Chris Lee caught a major break in 2008 when Alice Kryzan upset the Democrats’ preferred choice in the primary, turning what was seen as a toss-up race into a more likely win for the Republicans. Had the nominee been someone else, Lee might have lost. Of course, the environment turned around for the GOP in 2010, and Lee had an easy ride.
The anti-GOP environment is past, and it sounds like the NY GOP actually found a decent, if not good candidate, so this shouldn’t duplicate the Scozzafava or Tedisco fiascoes.
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