Posted by Efforts by the White House and Sen. Chuck Schumer to prevent a Democratic primary challenge to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand next year appear to be failing.
Despite their success in getting Rep. Steve Israel to say he won’t challenge Gillibrand, four other Democrats are preparing to run.
Gillibrand, a 42-year-old attorney elected to the House twice in a Republican-leaning district that stretches from the Hudson Valley north to Lake Placid, was appointed to the Senate in January to fill the seat vacated by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Some Democrats view her as vulnerable in a September 2010 primary because of conservative positions she espoused on guns and immigration as a House member, positions she has moderated as a senator.
Source: Star Gazette Continue Reading This Article Here
Senator Gillibrand will be elected in 2010 because, like her predecessor Hillary Clinton, she is smart, funny, focused, caring, thoughtful, harworking, open-minded and tough. And the more voters get to know her, like her predecessor, the greater her support.
This is reflected in the impressive number of endorsements Gillibrand is receiving from opinio leaders, progressive organizations and unions all across the state.
NY Dems have a history of nasty primaries which only benefit Republicans – think D’Amato and Buckley. This is a time for Democrats to coalesce around Gillibrand and set aside oversized political egos.
Does Carolyn Maloney really want to be remembered not for her accomplishments but for being the Jacob Javits of this election???
I might agree with your point about this being a time for party unity except for one very troubling fact: Gillibrand wasn’t elected, and was appointed by a very unpopular Governor that wasn’t elected. Don’t you think the people of NY deserve the chance to elect whomever represents them at least once? I’m not supporting any one candidate but find it very undemocratic if we are appointing people and never having them face any serious challengers. That’s feudalism, not democracy.