NRCC Memo: New York Primary Results
TO: INTERESTED PARTIES
FROM: NRCC POLITICAL AND NRCC COMMUNICATIONS
DATE: JUNE 24, 2014
SUBJECT: NEW YORK PRIMARY RESULTS
It says a lot about how difficult 2014 is for Democrats that they are playing defense in at least four seats in DCCC Chairman Steve Israel’s home state. Whether it’s ethically tainted Tim Bishop, epically out-of-touch Sean Eldridge, or Mr. Washington D.C. Dan Maffei, Democrat incumbents and candidates are carrying their own individual baggage into the strong national headwinds caused by ObamaCare and a President who is stumbling from one disaster to the next on what seems like a weekly basis. New York is key to Republicans increasing their majority in the House, and the difference between the Republicans and Democrats running for seats in New York this November clearly gives the advantage to the GOP.
CHALLENGERS
NY-01: Lee Zeldin (R) v. Tim Bishop (D)
Tim Bishop barely won re-election the past two cycles and that was before he was investigated by the Department of Justice and the Office of Congressional Ethics for his role in a pay-for-play fundraising scheme. Meanwhile, Bishop continues his unqualified support of ObamaCare, calling it “a pretty damn good idea” and even repeating the Lie of the Year, which remains on his website.
Bishop is being challenged by Lee Zeldin, a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne who served in Iraq and is currently serving as a New York State Senator. In that role, Lee helped lead the fight for lower payroll and income taxes for middle class families and helped secure funding for the PFC Joseph Dwyer Program, a statewide program to help our returning veterans cope with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).
Geography: PVI: R+2; Obama 49.6% – Romney 49.1%. New York’s 1st Congressional District includes most of Central and Eastern Suffolk County, including most of Smithtown, as well as the entirety of the towns of Brookhaven, Riverhead, Southold, Southampton, East Hampton, and Shelter Island.
NY-18: Nan Hayworth (R) v. Sean Patrick Maloney (D)
Democrat Sean Patrick Maloney spent his first term in Congress showing his constituents exactly how fiscally irresponsible he really is. Maloney voted against a balanced budget, against banning taxpayer funded healthcare for life for Members of Congress, and even against eliminating first class air travel for Members of Congress. Maloney is being challenged by former Congresswoman Nan Hayworth, who has consistently voted for fiscal responsibility and pro-job policies that empower families, not the federal government. As a doctor, Hayworth understands how ObamaCare is negatively impacting families in the 18th District and is committed to replacing ObamaCare with a plan that takes power from the bureaucrats and insurance companies, and gives it back to people and their doctors
Geography: PVI: Even; Obama 51.4% – Romney 47.2%. New York’s 18th Congressional District includes all of Orange County and Putnam County, as well as parts of southern Dutchess County and northeastern Westchester County.
NY-24: John Katko (R) v. Dan Maffei (D)
Dan Maffei has never won a Congressional election in a mid-term year, losing in both 2006 and 2010. Maffei can expect the same fate in 2014 as his vote for ObamaCare and its medical device tax continues to haunt him and his out-of-touch decision to buy a $700,000 home in Alexandria, VA only further alienates him from Central New York families that are tired of “D.C. Dan.”
Maffei is being challenged by John Katko, a former federal prosecutor who served in the Central New York US Attorney’s Office as the concurrent Narcotics Chief, Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Coordinator, Binghamton Office Supervisor, Team Leader, and Grand Jury Coordinator. Katko understands ObamaCare cannot be fixed and it’s time for real healthcare solutions, he wants to lower taxes, and would support a balanced budget.
Geography: PVI: D+5; Obama 57.1% – Romney 41.1%. New York’s 24th District includes the City of Syracuse and all of Cayuga, Onondaga, and Wayne counties, and the western part of Oswego County.
OPEN SEATS
NY-21: Elise Stefanik (R) v. Aaron Woolf (D)
The minute Congressman Bill Owens announced his retirement Democrats knew that holding onto this traditionally Republican seat would be an uphill battle. Well-known local Democrats all saw the writing on the wall and declined to run, leaving an unknown – and self-described “press release kind of guy” – Aaron Woolf to try and keep the seat for Nancy Pelosi.
Woolf, who had never been to the largest city in the district until a month into his campaign, finds himself competing for the seat against Elise Stefanik, a small businesswoman who was born and raised in upstate New York. With a policymaking background and experience at her family’s small business, Stefanik promises to bring a new and dynamic approach to Congress and to hold this seat for years to come.
Geography: PVI: Even; Obama 52.2% – Romney 46.1%. New York’s 21st Congressional District is located in New York’s North Country and includes all or parts of Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Hamilton, Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Saratoga, St. Lawrence, Warren, and Washington counties.
INCUMBENTS
NY-19: Chris Gibson (R) v. Sean Eldridge (D)
Voters will have a clear choice in this race. Republican and Kinderhook native Chris Gibson is not only one of the most independent voices in Congress, he is also a bona fide war hero and has served seven tours of duty in the United States Army. Gibson has been a leading voice in the fight against Lyme disease and the push for broadband access in rural New York. As an experienced combat officer, Gibson also provides a rare and important perspective in Congress as the United States deals with dangerous situations in places like Russia, Syria, Iraq, and Iran.
Conversely, Sean Eldridge is a 27-year old first time candidate for Congress who is using his massive $700 million checkbook to fund both his campaign and a venture capital firm, the latter of which is used to buy support in the community by providing companies high interest loans. Eldridge has also shown himself to be the ultimate hypocrite, publicly bemoaning millionaires pouring money into politics while spending millions to help get himself and others elected. Eldridge’s campaign is also being funded by his significant investments in the very companies and industries that he criticizes on the campaign trail. Eldridge recently admitted that he would have voted for ObamaCare and against the bipartisan farm bill which is so vital to the region. Finally, this race has been profiled by a number of media outlets, including the NY Times, Politico, the Huffington Post, and Fox News. Those profiles have spawned a number of unflattering portrayals of Eldridge and headlines like – “Young, Rich and Relocating Yet Again in Hunt for Political Office,” “Sean Eldridge Is Great At Buying Hudson Valley Homes, Not As Good At Buying His Neighbors’ Affection,” and “Sean Eldridge slams firms husband invests in.”
Geography: PVI: D+1; Obama 52.1% – Romney 45.9%. New York’s 19th Congressional District is made up of Columbia, Delaware, Greene, Otsego, Schoharie, Sullivan, and Ulster counties, and parts of Broome, Dutchess, Montgomery, and Rensselaer counties.
NY-23: Tom Reed (R) v. Martha Robertson (D)
Since being elected to Congress in 2010, Congressman Tom Reed has tirelessly fought for lower taxes, fewer burdensome regulations, a balanced budget, and an economic environment that can help grow jobs in the Southern Tier. Reed serves on the Ways and Means Committee and co-chairs the House Manufacturing Caucus and Congressional Natural Gas Caucus, two areas that are crucially important to the 23rd District.
Reed’s opponent, Martha Robertson, has been nothing short of a disaster since announcing her candidacy. The list of stumbles by Robertson is too long for this memo, but they include sending a fraudulent fundraising email, fundraising with a convicted sex offender, and continually making accusations against her opponent which have already been debunked by non-partisan fact checking organizations. Even more harmful than Robertson’s error-prone campaign are her positions, which are far out-of-step with the 23rd district. Robertson opposes natural gas development, believes that global warming is the number one issue in the campaign, and has already pledged to support Nancy Pelosi and her agenda in the House.
Geography: PVI: R+3; Romney 49.6% – Obama 48.4%. New York’s 23rd Congressional District is comprised of the Finger Lakes and the Southern Tier. It includes eleven counties: Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Chemung, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Tompkins and Yates County along with parts of Ontario and Tioga counties, and includes Hanford and parts of Bakersfield.
STATEWIDE ROUNDUP
The following are the unofficial results from Tuesday’s primary election in New York. These results are unofficial and incomplete.
*Indicates Winner determined by AP
NY-01
Republican Primary
472 of 473 Precincts Reporting (99%)
Lee Zeldin* 62%
George Demos 38%
NY-21
Republican Primary
529 of 544 Precincts Reporting (97%)
Elise Stefanik* 61%
Matt Doheny 39%