Posted on 03/27/2008 3:30:00 PM PDT by Clintonfatigued
Though retiring Republican incumbents hold two western New York seats near Syracuse and the Canadian border, the party is having a difficult time coming up with top-notch candidates to hold the seats. In the past day alone, two top recruits have told the Washington GOP establishment that they will not be seeking their party's nomination to replace Reps. Tom Reynolds and Jim Walsh, while Democrats have largely settled on their candidates.
Walsh's Twenty-Fifth District, based around Syracuse, looks like one of the best pickup opportunities Democrats have in the Northeast. Former Congressional aide Dan Maffei, a Democrat who came just 3,000 votes from beating Walsh in 2006, is running again and has raised an impressive amount of money. Yesterday, Maffei's chances got a little better as top Republican challenger Peter Cappuccilli said he would not make a bid due to health concerns.
Cappuccilli, the former director of the New York State Fair, was warned by doctors that his health could seriously deteriorate and that he might have had something like a mini-stroke, the Syracuse Post-Standard reported late last night. Cappuccilli is currently visiting family and undergoing tests at a hospital in Florida, and his campaign says it plans to return all donations. The decision came just two weeks after another Republican, Randy Wolken, dropped out to unite the party around Cappuccilli, as we wrote yesterday.
In Reynolds' Twenty-Sixth District, GOP State Senator George Maziarz told the Niagara Falls Reporter that he will not run for the seat. Widely described as a Reynolds acolyte, Maziarz was on stage with the incumbent when he announced his retirement, and Maziarz's strong fundraising ability and political base base -- most of his Senate district is within Reynolds' Congressional district -- made him the early front-runner.
(Excerpt) Read more at realclearpolitics.com ...
The loss of Senator George Maziarz is a huge blow. And I think I read that state Assemblyman Jim Hayes won’t run, either, but I may be mistaken.
In the race to succeed Walsh, ex-state Senator Nancy Hoffman could be a credible candidate, and I don’t think she ruled out running.
WHOOOOOPS!!!!!
Turns out that Hoffman is a major RINO. I hope the GOP isn’t forced to resort to recruiting her.
thanks, bfl
I’m thinking there may be enormous pressure being exerted on every NY Senate Republican not to depart and have Bruno lose his leverage as acting Lieutenant Governor (in case the Dems win any of the vacated seats). What happened to that sports figure thinking of running ? If worse comes to worse, maybe they could try to get Bill Paxon to make a comeback.
Unfortunately, Paxon has "wide stance" issues if you catch my drift.
Has Susie reigned him in ?
I don’t know about now, but in her younger years, Susie Molinari made Dina “DP” Mcgreevey look like a nun. While I know that she hopped from bed to bed like a rabbit, I refuse to believe the rumor that she slept with my former State Senator Guy Vellella (EW!).
She sounds like fun. I can understand about Vellela, it’s hard to boff somebody that has the same name as your mother or father.
Is that why they both quit politics? I read they were a “GOP Power Couple”.
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