Monday, April 5, 2010

Who will run against Gillibrand?

Election season this fall is going to be busy. In New York, candidates are lining up for the gubernatorial race; challengers to Representatives Bill Owens and Scott Murphy are also licking their chops as both Congressmen are up for reelection this November.

But no one seems interested in challenging U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.

The former 20th Congressional District Representative was appointed to the Senate seat by Governor David Paterson, after Hilary Clinton became President Barack Obama's Secretary of State.

The conventional wisdom is that Gillibrand is vulnerable as an unelected senator appointed by an unpopular governor. But she's already warded off a primary challenge by former Tennessee Congressman Harold Ford, and potential GOP challengers have been utterly silent.

Some though former Governor George Pataki would step up; others looked to former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

This is from an Associated Press article published today:

"Big-name Republicans have opted out of a run, three relative unknowns are in and the door is open to new challengers. New York Republicans say they are poised to ride national trends to victory. Some analysts counter that the state party's inability so far to come up with a high-profile candidate shows a lack of depth in a party long out of power."

The AP also states that Ed Cox, chairman of the New York State Republican Committee, has scoffed at the notion that it's getting late in the game for a challenger to declare.

No comments:

Post a Comment