Back and Forth: Line Operator
Wed, 17 Feb 2010 12:38:00
Tom Reynolds was first elected to Congress in 1998, and quickly shot through the ranks of the GOP leadership. He retired in 2008, following the 2006 Democratic wave, which some blame him for, given his role as head of the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee that cycle.
But now Reynolds has taken on a new electoral challenge. As vice-chairman of the Republican State Leadership Committee, he is tasked with getting Republican state legislators elected ahead of the redistricting fights looming in 2012. He spoke with The Capitol about his new job, why the GOP has seen such losses in New York, and what makes redistricting fights such a blood sport.
What follows is an edited tran scri pt.
The Capitol: You retired from the House of Representatives in 2006 after 10 years in Washington. Why did you decide to take the job with the Republican State Leadership Committee?
Tom Reynolds: Well, because first of all, I was a state legislator who went through redistricting in the ’90s and I was a federal legislator in Congress and went through redistricting in 2002, and I know firsthand how important the state legislature is, which I look at as the backbone of our party. ... There are 18 chambers [around the country] where a difference of up to four seats, either plus or minus, makes the difference in which party holds a majority in the state. Republicans have to defend seven majorities across the country; Democrats have to defend 11. It brings it right home to New York. … If the elections of 2010 bring about the opportunity to help the New York State Senate come back to a Republican majority, then the Republicans, first of all, are setting part of the public policy in 2011. Also, they are going to be at the table for what redistricting will be for the next decade, in both the state legislature and Congress. … This is a 50-state project. There are 21 states that are widely viewed as battlegrounds for congressional redistricting that could control as many as 281 congressional seats. Think about that. When you look at the election, 21 states—depending on how the state legislatures are made up—will have an impact on 281 congressional seats.
TC: New York has seen serious Republican losses since 2002, losing eight congressional seats and the State Senate. What happened?
TR: Let’s take the two special elections that just recently happened in Congress. … So when you look at those two elections, they should be in the Republican column. NY-20 is the best Republican seat in the state of congressional seats, and NY-23 has been held by a Republican since the Civil War. Where do we look? We can’t look totally in the past, so we have to look to the future. I think the first thing is that the State Senate, for whatever reason, throughout this past decade lost seats—and it cost them the majority. Some of us think it’s maybe how they ran their campaigns, but nevertheless they lost those seats.
TC: What can you do to reverse the tide?
TR: Well, first of all, Minority Leader [Dean] Skelos is busy making sure that Republicans have a message of what they stand for in the State Senate. The second thing, I would hope, is that they are able to keep their incumbents running for re-election and they’re out there recruiting candidates for every seat, but particularly in those seats that they must win in order to get a majority. The next thing they need to do is develop good campaign teams and organizations in each one of those districts. Finally, they need to have enough money to get their message out. As they’re in the minority, they’re going to have to raise that money by candidate and by party.
TC: How does your experience as head of the NRCC in ’06, overseeing a year with many Republican losses, inform what you do for this job? Do you do anything differently?
TR: Well, there’s nothing better than experience to help anyone. Some have given me credit that I saved 20 seats from being lost in ’06 that came in the ’08 cycle. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but did I know that Republicans would have the wind at their face for many different reasons in ’06? You bet. We ended up with New England only having but one representative in Congress out of 22 seats, and he was picked off in ’08. I think my presence at the committee helped in the ’06 elections in keeping Jim Walsh and Randy Kuhl in Congress. If you were running as a Democrat that wanted to seek public office in the Congress, Senate, or governor’s races in 2006, it was a good time to run. If you wanted to be a Republican governor, senator, or congressman in 1994, it was a pretty good time to run. There were waves going on both sides. Most other times, there’s a little wind to your face or back, but you are out there in how the race affects you by district. This year, it’s yet to be determined if there will be a big wave like a tsunami, or will there be a little wave, or will it be settled out by a miraculous redirection by the president and the Democratic party.
TC: These legislatures operate so close to the ground, and the districts are so small. How can an organization like yours help?
TR: I think that the New York State legislature and the California legislature in particular are so sophisticated they’re almost one step from congressional races. ... In today’s races in the State Senate, where they represent about 300,000 people, the similar mechanics to that race would go to a congressional race in our state representing 654,000. You’ll see the employment of mail, telephones and electronic media as part of the strategy to deliver a campaign message, and that’s similar to other types of races like Congress.
TC: But there are differences between electing Republicans in Nebraska and New York, right?
TR: That’s what I love about this particular organization. … If it takes just a little bit more money in the state to make the difference because they have a great organization, because they need more dollars to get their message out, that’s what will happen in that state. If it’s some place where they need to find particular talent to strengthen what the state political operation may lack, then we look to identify how to make that happen. … It may be that the RSLC itself chooses to do an independent expenditure in order to make a difference. What I think brings about the best result and the track record of what the RSLC has been about is, we figure out what you need and try to help you out with it, if possible, and if we can make a difference. So with that, I think part of the strength of the team is to have the field organizations that are helping identify the problem and bring about a recommended solution.
TC: What will happen to the state GOP if the Democrats hold on to the State Senate? Will we see large Democratic majorities in both houses and in Congress for as far as the eye can see?
TR: If it is strictly the Democratic Party by majorities in the Assembly and Senate, as well as the governor, then we will find that New York is projected to lose one congressional seat after the 2010 Census. You can take to the bank that it will be some Republican hide taken out of there. Their strategy will be, can we weaken the existing officeholders and take away one? Redistricting politics is the toughest form of politics I know after 40 years of being in the business. I’ve seen labor politics straight-on in New York. I’ve seen state legislative politics, congressional politics, presidential politics and gubernatorial politics. Redistricting politics is the toughest of all of them, and I’ve seen three of them.
TC: Why?
TR: Well, you’re talking about both survival of the individuals, but also the makeup for what the next 10 years is projected on the sophistication of demographic research that goes into trying to draw boundaries. We don’t have a commission in New York—it’s done by legislators. States like Iowa and Arizona have commissions, so they have neutral mapmakers. Whoever’s got the majority in New York has the pens.
But now Reynolds has taken on a new electoral challenge. As vice-chairman of the Republican State Leadership Committee, he is tasked with getting Republican state legislators elected ahead of the redistricting fights looming in 2012. He spoke with The Capitol about his new job, why the GOP has seen such losses in New York, and what makes redistricting fights such a blood sport.
What follows is an edited tran scri pt.
The Capitol: You retired from the House of Representatives in 2006 after 10 years in Washington. Why did you decide to take the job with the Republican State Leadership Committee?
Tom Reynolds: Well, because first of all, I was a state legislator who went through redistricting in the ’90s and I was a federal legislator in Congress and went through redistricting in 2002, and I know firsthand how important the state legislature is, which I look at as the backbone of our party. ... There are 18 chambers [around the country] where a difference of up to four seats, either plus or minus, makes the difference in which party holds a majority in the state. Republicans have to defend seven majorities across the country; Democrats have to defend 11. It brings it right home to New York. … If the elections of 2010 bring about the opportunity to help the New York State Senate come back to a Republican majority, then the Republicans, first of all, are setting part of the public policy in 2011. Also, they are going to be at the table for what redistricting will be for the next decade, in both the state legislature and Congress. … This is a 50-state project. There are 21 states that are widely viewed as battlegrounds for congressional redistricting that could control as many as 281 congressional seats. Think about that. When you look at the election, 21 states—depending on how the state legislatures are made up—will have an impact on 281 congressional seats.
TC: New York has seen serious Republican losses since 2002, losing eight congressional seats and the State Senate. What happened?TR: Let’s take the two special elections that just recently happened in Congress. … So when you look at those two elections, they should be in the Republican column. NY-20 is the best Republican seat in the state of congressional seats, and NY-23 has been held by a Republican since the Civil War. Where do we look? We can’t look totally in the past, so we have to look to the future. I think the first thing is that the State Senate, for whatever reason, throughout this past decade lost seats—and it cost them the majority. Some of us think it’s maybe how they ran their campaigns, but nevertheless they lost those seats.
TC: What can you do to reverse the tide?
TR: Well, first of all, Minority Leader [Dean] Skelos is busy making sure that Republicans have a message of what they stand for in the State Senate. The second thing, I would hope, is that they are able to keep their incumbents running for re-election and they’re out there recruiting candidates for every seat, but particularly in those seats that they must win in order to get a majority. The next thing they need to do is develop good campaign teams and organizations in each one of those districts. Finally, they need to have enough money to get their message out. As they’re in the minority, they’re going to have to raise that money by candidate and by party.
TC: How does your experience as head of the NRCC in ’06, overseeing a year with many Republican losses, inform what you do for this job? Do you do anything differently?
TR: Well, there’s nothing better than experience to help anyone. Some have given me credit that I saved 20 seats from being lost in ’06 that came in the ’08 cycle. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but did I know that Republicans would have the wind at their face for many different reasons in ’06? You bet. We ended up with New England only having but one representative in Congress out of 22 seats, and he was picked off in ’08. I think my presence at the committee helped in the ’06 elections in keeping Jim Walsh and Randy Kuhl in Congress. If you were running as a Democrat that wanted to seek public office in the Congress, Senate, or governor’s races in 2006, it was a good time to run. If you wanted to be a Republican governor, senator, or congressman in 1994, it was a pretty good time to run. There were waves going on both sides. Most other times, there’s a little wind to your face or back, but you are out there in how the race affects you by district. This year, it’s yet to be determined if there will be a big wave like a tsunami, or will there be a little wave, or will it be settled out by a miraculous redirection by the president and the Democratic party.
TC: These legislatures operate so close to the ground, and the districts are so small. How can an organization like yours help?
TR: I think that the New York State legislature and the California legislature in particular are so sophisticated they’re almost one step from congressional races. ... In today’s races in the State Senate, where they represent about 300,000 people, the similar mechanics to that race would go to a congressional race in our state representing 654,000. You’ll see the employment of mail, telephones and electronic media as part of the strategy to deliver a campaign message, and that’s similar to other types of races like Congress.
TC: But there are differences between electing Republicans in Nebraska and New York, right?
TR: That’s what I love about this particular organization. … If it takes just a little bit more money in the state to make the difference because they have a great organization, because they need more dollars to get their message out, that’s what will happen in that state. If it’s some place where they need to find particular talent to strengthen what the state political operation may lack, then we look to identify how to make that happen. … It may be that the RSLC itself chooses to do an independent expenditure in order to make a difference. What I think brings about the best result and the track record of what the RSLC has been about is, we figure out what you need and try to help you out with it, if possible, and if we can make a difference. So with that, I think part of the strength of the team is to have the field organizations that are helping identify the problem and bring about a recommended solution.
TC: What will happen to the state GOP if the Democrats hold on to the State Senate? Will we see large Democratic majorities in both houses and in Congress for as far as the eye can see?
TR: If it is strictly the Democratic Party by majorities in the Assembly and Senate, as well as the governor, then we will find that New York is projected to lose one congressional seat after the 2010 Census. You can take to the bank that it will be some Republican hide taken out of there. Their strategy will be, can we weaken the existing officeholders and take away one? Redistricting politics is the toughest form of politics I know after 40 years of being in the business. I’ve seen labor politics straight-on in New York. I’ve seen state legislative politics, congressional politics, presidential politics and gubernatorial politics. Redistricting politics is the toughest of all of them, and I’ve seen three of them.
TC: Why?
TR: Well, you’re talking about both survival of the individuals, but also the makeup for what the next 10 years is projected on the sophistication of demographic research that goes into trying to draw boundaries. We don’t have a commission in New York—it’s done by legislators. States like Iowa and Arizona have commissions, so they have neutral mapmakers. Whoever’s got the majority in New York has the pens.
