Bleak House: GOP Prospects For Holding House Seat Grow Worse And Worse
The GOP's prospects for holding onto a key House seat in New York -- once practically assured in their Staten Island stronghold -- have rapidly gotten bleaker and bleaker, to the point where the seat could be on its way to the Democrats.
After wealthy GOP candidate Frank Powers -- who wasn't even the party's first choice to begin with -- tragically passed away over the weekend, the party has had to go hunting for a new one. But one potential candidate after another has bailed. They include a local TV newscaster, multiple state legislators, a local D.A., and at least half a dozen others -- to a person, they've all said, Thanks but no thanks.
"It's a crazy situation," said former Rep. Guy Molinari, the unofficial leader of the Staten Island GOP, in a phone interview with Election Central.
"We have an open seat, a seat held by Republicans for 28 years," Molinari said. "And somewhat discouraging, we have not been able to field a candidate that can go out there and win."
Molinari told us that local party leaders and prospective candidates will be meeting tonight or possibly tomorrow night with still other potential candidates to see if someone, anyone, will run against expected Democratic nominee Michael McMahon or his primary challenger Steve Harrison.
Good luck.
Interesting that while Mr. Molinari seems to have trouble finding a candidate, he isn't even considering himself as running. That, obviously, speaks volumes.
June 26, 2008 5:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ummmm.... Mr. Molinari is already in Congress and so is presumably defending his own seat....
As for the open seat, this is a Democratic year, and everyone knows it, and this particular seat is tainted by the scandal that dethroned the current Representative.... if I were a Republican, why would I go down the drain this year when I could keep my options open for another campaign later?
The rout is on......
June 26, 2008 5:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
He is? I see "former Representative." Am I mistaken? I see he is Borough President (and 80 years old).
June 26, 2008 5:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
Molinari resigned from congress in 1989, his wife got his seat for a term, then a Dem took it. He was Staten Island borough president for a decade until 2001. He is known as the head Publican in Staten Island, but hasnt held elected office in nearly a decade.
And disgraced Vito Fossella was his protege, so I am sure the look on his face was quite delicious when he heard that Fossella got a DUI while driving to meet his kid from his mistress in D.C. a few months back.
June 26, 2008 5:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
A small quibble, and I mean no disrespect (either to the late Mr. Powers or to Eric), but can we dispense with referring to his death as "tragic" (this isn't the first time it's been so referenced in a TPM post, if I'm not mistaken)? Sad for his family and friends, yes, and certainly unfortunate for the GOP and perversely timed, but tragic? The man was sixty-seven years old. Granted that's younger than the average life expectancy for an American man in 2008 (what's it up to now, 78? 79?), but still. He evidently had a full and active life and the death of a senior citizen of natural causes is not quite tragic. Unless we're using "tragic" in the classic Greek sense, where his ill-timed passing leads to the fall of the GOP in this previously safe seat. Maybe that could be called tragic.
Again, just a small quibble. I think "tragic," "tragically," and "tragedy" are simply cheap and over-used words these days. Carry on. :-)
June 26, 2008 5:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
I concur. And your Latin name backs you up on your reference.
June 26, 2008 5:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks for having my back, Angry Vet. :) I always enjoy your posts. You may have mentioned this elsewhere and I missed it, but in what branch did you serve?
June 26, 2008 7:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
Your avatar backs up the use of the gratuitous word for a female dog as making your quibbles ridiculous.
But I'm sure you don't mean any disrespect to any women out there, when you talk to your mom that way.
June 27, 2008 1:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
Why doesn't Susan Molinari run for it? Does she not want to give up her commentating gig?
June 26, 2008 5:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
Idon`t know much about New York politics and I live in Cincinnati,but I`ll do it.Oh,I almost forgot I`m a liberal independent.I missed the McCain town hall meeting, today at Xavier U.,but I`m waiting for the book.
June 26, 2008 5:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ring... ring...
"Hey guys, Alan Keyes on line 1!"
June 26, 2008 5:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
All right, all right. Enough with the phone calls. I'll do it. But does it mean I have to live on Staten Island??
June 26, 2008 6:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well, judging by his photo in the NY Post announcing his death, the guy lived a long life full of martinis, corned beef, extra-large eggs and heapin' side of bacon at every breakfast.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/06222008/news/regionalnews/frank_powers_dies_116712.htm
The only tragedy is the loss of income to the corner bar.
June 26, 2008 6:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
Eric, who's the "local TV newscaster"?
June 26, 2008 7:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
I can't believe I am the only one who does not see the obvious Republican play here: RUDY! RUDY! RUDY!
That ought to put the nail in the GOP coffin.
June 26, 2008 7:43 PM | Reply | Permalink
I of course meant I am the only one who DOES see the obvious play, but maybe it was better the original way I typed it.
June 26, 2008 7:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
Guy was succeeded by his daughter, Susan Molinari, not his wife. She held the seat for two and a half terms before giving it up to host a TV news show for CBS in 1997. That didn't last and I gather she's now a lobbyist. I don't know if she still lives on Staten Island, but her Wikipedia entry says she's been touted to run for mayor of NYC in 2009, so I guess she's still around the city.
June 26, 2008 11:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
Aren't we ignoring the most obvious answer here? If the GOP can't find anyone better than Vito Fossella, then they should run Vito Fossella. It wouldn't be the first time a disgraced Republican has gone back on his word to leave office (Larry Craig). And if Mr. Fossella managed to pull off a win, that certainly wouldn't be a first for a disgraced Republican either (Jim Gibbons, Jerry Lewis, etc., etc.).
June 27, 2008 12:14 PM | Reply | Permalink