Nearly 12 hours after they first convened at the Minnowbrook Conference Center on the shore of this Adirondack gem, the 11 county party chairs comprising the 23rd Congressional District picked Bill Owens, a Plattsburgh attorney, as the Democratic Party’s candidate to replace John McHugh in Congress.
At first glance this seems to be a bit of an odd choice — I’m not sure what Owens, a registered independent, brings to the table here. There has been a bit of buzz about him, with a “national Democratic source” telling the New York Daily News’ Elizabeth Benjamin that “everybody is talking about this guy Owens, saying he’s the best of what’s left” after Aubertine pulled the plug. I have to hope that there’s something impressive about him, because he beat out two other finalists with more apparent advantages — one of whom had serious financial backing (McGrath) and the other a legitimate political resume (Sullivan).
UPDATE: CQ mentions a possible reason why Dems selected Owens, a former Air Force captain, for the job — they believe he may be willing to bankroll his own race. Perhaps the county party chairs were able to squeeze out an estimate from him.
LATER UPDATE: The Hill has a lil’ more:
Owens himself cited his work creating the Plattsburgh Airbase Redevelopment Corporation — known as PARC — as his key qualification. […]
Already, Owens strove to emulate [Rep. Scott] Murphy, who ran his campaign largely based on support for President Obama’s economic stimulus plan and distanced himself from traditional politics, all while associating himself with a president whose approval ratings were sky-high.
“I’m not a career politician. I’m a veteran who proudly served my country in the Air Force and I have demonstrated the same commitment to bringing jobs to our community,” Owens said in a statement.
RaceTracker Wiki: NY-23
about Scozzafava having too much crossover appeal. And I read that Owens has been on TV.
Perhaps that helps in the rural district? I agree that the other two candidates seemed more attractive.
We’re talking about a bunch of lightweights here, no one has a distinguishing political resume for a Congressional race. A former small-town mayor isn’t worth much in a sprawling district, and the fundraising the other guy had was mediocre.
This is no different, “on paper,” than Scott Murphy, who had never run for anything in his life and was picked to carry our flag against a high-powered longtime GOP state legislative leader.
Candidates and campaigns matter, and the NY-23 poohbahs know that absent Aubertine, they have to pick whoever they think will make the best candidate. They obviously know things about Owens that impress but that don’t show up on a resume. That was the case with Murphy.
Having the right split gives us a real shot here, as it will take a lot for conservatives to stomach DeDe in a district that is purple, not blue. This isn’t like Nebraska Democrats having to accept Ben Nelson, which they do because they’re smart enough to know how strongly conservative their state is. NY-23 conservatives know a conservative, or at least someone more conservative than DeDe, has a 50-50 shot at holding the seat, especially in a special against a no-name Dem.
All that said, I expect early polling will show us down by double-digits, and it would be more if it wasn’t for Doug Hoffman’s presence on the Conservative line. But a good campaign can turn it around, perhaps more quickly than in NY-20 given that DeDe clearly is to Tedisco’s left and conservatives could get disenchanted real fast with her.
…2008 county results!!!
Clinton
Obama 61-38
Essex
Obama 56-43
Franklin
Obama 61-38
Fulton
McCain 54-45
Hamilton
McCain 63-36
Jefferson
McCain 52-47
Lewis
McCain 54-45
Madison
Obama 49-49
Oneida
McCain 52-46
Oswego
Obama 50-48
St. Lawrence
Obama 58-41
the election will be before the gubernatorial races this fall so we can hit the republicans in the mouth before they hit back.
Seems like a pretty bad choice out of the three, lets hope they were right and I’m wrong.
that Owens is against the public option. Obama did win the district after all. I do not mind Blue Dogs representing conservative districts, but we are beginning to have quite a few of them that they’re even watering down bills in committee, including the Energy and Commerce Committee. This district happens to be a swing district where I do not think we should expect a complete progressive, but at least a New Dem would be nice. I hope Owens does not continue to take positions to the right of Scozzafava, at least. It will be interesting to see their positions on EFCA.
Score another one for the “Rahminization” of the Democratic Party.
Look, I get that Democrats want to win every seat. But if the party continues to move right, what’s the point? Already, Blue Dogs are holding the health care bill hostage.
Owens isn’t even registered as a Democrat! He does not support a public option available to anyone and is against full marriage equality. What else? A search of “Open Secrets” revealed just 2 contributions ($750.) by him-to Republican Al D’Amato in 1998 against Senator Shumer. The law firm he is a partner of is headed by a former Republican state senator (Sen. Ronald Stafford-42nd district). So, where are his Democratic credentials?
And don’t give me the crap that his position on marriage is like that of Obama’s…Obama didn’t get my vote in the primaries because of his position on that issue.
What’s next? We’re the majority part, one back-boned by the Progressives, not “the moderates” (really, though, conservatives) and we have to go to an Independent/Republican for a candidate? Owens could only get the nomination from power brokers, he sure couldn’t win it in a primary.
It’s becoming more and more obvious that the Democratic Party is becoming ruled more and more by the Right. If you want a Republican, vote Republican. This guy is no Democrat.