According to the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, David Nachbar, one of the contenders for the Democratic nomination to take on “Shotgun” Randy Kuhl next year, has withdrawn his candidacy this week. Nachbar cites workplace demands as the reason for folding his bid, but perhaps he also found that he underestimated the depth and breadth of support for rematch candidate Eric Massa within the 29th district. For instance, it seems like not a day goes by where Massa's campaign doesn't put out another press release announcing the endorsement of a county or township Democratic committee (see the latest one here).
While Massa got off to a solid start, outraising Kuhl significantly in the second quarter ($158K to $68K) and reporting a higher cash-on-hand total, Nachbar had some deep pockets of his own that he was willing to tap into. Coupled with New York's September primary, a contested nomination would have been a serious resource drain for the eventual nominee. New York's 29th will not be one of the easier targets for Democrats in 2008, but Nachbar's termination could help ensure that Massa will make a decent second shot at it.
(H/T: DailyKos diarist ipsos)
wasn’t Nachbar the man whom Slaughter got to jump in the race at the last minute last year because she thought Massa was a weak candidate. He jumped in, and then dropped out three days later, am I right?
Some observers claim that a primary is always good for the Democrats, but I think they’re getting carried away. One benefit of a primary can be to raise name recognition. Another is to build and test a campaign organization. Been there, done that in this case.
Eric Massa already has the name recognition and the tested campaign organization. With the right funding from the DCCC he will win this time. And no need to waste money on a primary here. Democrats have plenty of other places to put our money to good use.