GOP picks ex-Army officer for run against Murphy

COLONIE — Calling his campaign a move toward freedom and away from centralization and dependency, retired Army Col. Chris Gibson will challenge U.S. Rep. Scott Murphy in November for the 20th Congressional District seat.

Gibson, 45, won the Republican endorsement Wednesday after GOP county committee chairmen in the district met for a vote at the Desmond Hotel and Conference Center. Gibson was one of four candidates who sought the endorsement. The other candidates have said they will honor the party choice and Gibson is not expected to face a primary.

Murphy, 40, a Glens Falls Democrat, is serving his first term in office after beating Assemblyman Jim Tedisco last year in a special election to replace Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. Murphy won by 721 votes.

The political atmosphere has changed since the special election.

Murphy campaigned last year behind a popular new president; today, President Barack Obama’s approval ratings have dropped. After voting against the first health-care reform bill, Murphy voted to approve the final health care overhaul bill, a divisive piece of legislation inside and outside the district.

“This campaign represents a chance to renew our republic and enact policies to make us feel safe,” Gibson said at a news conference at the Desmond. The hotel is outside the district but chosen because it was a central meeting place for county chairmen in the 10-county congressional district.

Gibson said Murphy’s votes for the cap-and-trade bill — a strategy to reduce pollution — and the health care reform law were out of touch with the people of the district. Both create an unfair burden on business and individuals, he added.

A spokesman for Murphy declined comment, but the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee quickly issued a statement calling Gibson out of touch.

“It’s almost as if Chris Gibson and his Republican Party bosses are going out of their way to prove that they’re out of touch and clueless when it comes to Upstate New York,” said Shripal Shah, regional press secretary for the DCCC. “The Tedisco-esque nature of Gibson’s candidacy may work for pandering purposes, but it also symbolizes exactly what voters rejected last year.”

Murphy is prepared to fight for his first full term. According to the most recent campaign finance reports filed with the Federal Election Commission, Murphy has $726,374 in his war chest.

Gibson said he would contribute $4,900 of his own money to his campaign, but said his candidacy would not be about money, but about having the right message.

Gibson competed against Saratoga Springs lawyer David Harper, life insurance salesman Patrick Ziegler and Queensbury Supervisor Dan Stec for the endorsement of the district’s Republican leaders. Harper and Ziegler were at Gibson’s news conference Wednesday. Ziegler said Gibson is a good candidate because of his common touch.

“It’s his ability to connect with people,” Ziegler said, adding he has already urged his supporters to work on Gibson’s behalf.
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