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Tea Party Groups Angered by GOP’s Choice for N.Y. Special Election
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| Contributor | TX DEM |
| Last Edited | TX DEM Feb 21, 2011 10:11pm |
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| Category | News |
| News Date | Tuesday, February 22, 2011 04:00:00 AM UTC0:0 |
| Description | New York state Assemblywoman Jane Corwin was chosen Monday to be the GOP’s representative in the special election to replace Rep. Chris Lee (R) in the Empire State’s 26th district.
The nomination of the establishment favorite, while celebrated by local Republican officials Monday night, drew an ominous warning from western New York tea party activists who immediately vowed to pursue a third-party candidate.
Corwin, who has a business background and the resources to fund her own campaign, was formally nominated in a Monday night meeting of the seven GOP county chairs in the district Lee represented until earlier in the month. He abruptly resigned after a blog published e-mails that the married lawmaker allegedly sent to a woman on Craigslist.
Under normal circumstances, Corwin would have become the instant favorite in a district that strongly favors Republicans. But local tea party activists’ pledge to rally behind a third-party candidate could change the race dramatically.
All last week, Democrats had downplayed expectations in the region that is home to unsuccessful gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino, the tea party favorite who won in the 26th district last November but was otherwise blown out in the governor’s race. Late last week, Paladino threw his support behind Corwin.
And while Paladino’s support seemed to have ensured tea party cooperation at the time, there were signs even before Monday night’s vote that the local conservative base was not on board with Corwin’s selection. The situation is starting to look eerily similar to what happened in the 2009 special election in New York’s 23rd district, where a three-way race that divided the Republican vote ultimately handed the seat to Democratic Rep. Bill Owens.
History could repeat itself this spring.
Tea party activists from western New York issued a statement over the weekend urging the local Republican chairmen to delay Monday’s vote. |
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