In Shift of Strategy, Republican Leaders Boost Long-Shot Candidates
Effort to build new fundraising bases in Democratic districts where winning is not key
Fri, 12 Sep 2008 15:15:00
A RAUCOUS CROWD filled an art gallery in Flushing on Friday, Sept. 5 as Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos
(R-Nassau) trekked to a corner of the city where Democrats have long dominated, to support a candidate few expect to prevail.
The airy, wood-paneled hall, lined with installations by Chinese artists, buzzed as Skelos made his way toward the candidate, Peter Koo, a Chinese-American businessman challenging State Sen. Toby Ann Stavisky (D-Queens). There to support a man whose chain of pharmacies and life story have made him a leading figure in Flushing's growing Asian community, he posed for pictures before the flashing handheld cameras of wide-eyed onlookers.
During a lull, Skelos explained that Koo's candidacy gave the Republicans the opportunity to usher in the Senate's first Chinese-American member. The district is about a third Asian-American, the largest concentration of Asian-Americans in any Senate district in the state.
"I've said from the beginning that we're going to grow our majority, we're not just going to keep our majority, and we're going to challenge the Democrats in all parts of the city, in all parts of the state that they've taken for granted," Skelos said before stepping to the podium to rally, through a translator, the mostly Chinese-American crowd.
The majority leader's presence at the Koo event signaled what many perceive as a shift in strategy for Republicans as they fight to defend their slim, one-seat majority in the State Senate. In order to build the party and remain competitive with Democrats, they have decided they must run credible candidates in races where enrollment figures suggest they are vastly outmatched. Even if those candidates lose, they believe they can help draw potential supporters-especially those with money-to the party by giving them a candidate to rally around in their district.
Late in his tenure as majority leader, Joseph Bruno (R-Rensselaer) issued a mandate: find Republican challengers in every Senate district. While resources have tightened with money flowing toward the defense of a few key incumbents, Skelos has made a point recently of traveling to Senate districts where fledgling Republican candidates have mounted long-shot campaigns against Democratic incumbents.
Skelos traveled to Flushing largely to gauge Koo's ability to manage a campaign and raise money, according to an aide familiar with his thinking.
Though his and Bruno's strategies share their focus on building credible candidacies in Democratic strongholds, they are said to differ on the intent of that strategy, according to Republican strategists and campaign aides.
Though Skelos failed to show at a fundraiser a few days later for John Chromczack, who is running against Democrat Dan Squadron in the Senate district that includes parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn, the prospect of him coming was enough to draw at least $15,000 dollars from donors who wrote checks before the event. As part of the effort to build Republican operations in Democratic strongholds, the Senate Republican Campaign Committee sent a second check of about $20,000 earlier this month to the Chromczack campaign.
But the new strategy has not always worked, and in some cases has cost the Republicans tens of thousands of dollars in a year when every dollar counts. Such was the case on the Upper East Side, where Republican hopes were lifted briefly by the candidacy of Tim Brown, a former firefighter with far-reaching connections to former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. The Senate Republican Campaign Committee poured $50,000 into the race before Brown had done much fundraising or campaigning of his own, hoping that his connections to the Giuliani world would help revive a battered Republican organization in the district.
But his campaign soon crumpled after top staff members-all former aides to Giuliani's presidential campaign-resigned abruptly, and the candidate himself declined to do any of the basic groundwork, according to Republican strategists familiar with the campaign.
But the risks of the new strategy have yet to scare off Republicans.
"I think it is important for Senator Skelos to show that he's not afraid to go in areas that people never thought Republicans would go into," Chromczack said. "I think the reality is different for Senator Skelos than it was for Senator Bruno or former SRCC chairs, and they've changed the game."
(R-Nassau) trekked to a corner of the city where Democrats have long dominated, to support a candidate few expect to prevail.
The airy, wood-paneled hall, lined with installations by Chinese artists, buzzed as Skelos made his way toward the candidate, Peter Koo, a Chinese-American businessman challenging State Sen. Toby Ann Stavisky (D-Queens). There to support a man whose chain of pharmacies and life story have made him a leading figure in Flushing's growing Asian community, he posed for pictures before the flashing handheld cameras of wide-eyed onlookers.
During a lull, Skelos explained that Koo's candidacy gave the Republicans the opportunity to usher in the Senate's first Chinese-American member. The district is about a third Asian-American, the largest concentration of Asian-Americans in any Senate district in the state.
"I've said from the beginning that we're going to grow our majority, we're not just going to keep our majority, and we're going to challenge the Democrats in all parts of the city, in all parts of the state that they've taken for granted," Skelos said before stepping to the podium to rally, through a translator, the mostly Chinese-American crowd.
The majority leader's presence at the Koo event signaled what many perceive as a shift in strategy for Republicans as they fight to defend their slim, one-seat majority in the State Senate. In order to build the party and remain competitive with Democrats, they have decided they must run credible candidates in races where enrollment figures suggest they are vastly outmatched. Even if those candidates lose, they believe they can help draw potential supporters-especially those with money-to the party by giving them a candidate to rally around in their district.
Late in his tenure as majority leader, Joseph Bruno (R-Rensselaer) issued a mandate: find Republican challengers in every Senate district. While resources have tightened with money flowing toward the defense of a few key incumbents, Skelos has made a point recently of traveling to Senate districts where fledgling Republican candidates have mounted long-shot campaigns against Democratic incumbents.
Skelos traveled to Flushing largely to gauge Koo's ability to manage a campaign and raise money, according to an aide familiar with his thinking.
Though his and Bruno's strategies share their focus on building credible candidacies in Democratic strongholds, they are said to differ on the intent of that strategy, according to Republican strategists and campaign aides.
Though Skelos failed to show at a fundraiser a few days later for John Chromczack, who is running against Democrat Dan Squadron in the Senate district that includes parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn, the prospect of him coming was enough to draw at least $15,000 dollars from donors who wrote checks before the event. As part of the effort to build Republican operations in Democratic strongholds, the Senate Republican Campaign Committee sent a second check of about $20,000 earlier this month to the Chromczack campaign.
But the new strategy has not always worked, and in some cases has cost the Republicans tens of thousands of dollars in a year when every dollar counts. Such was the case on the Upper East Side, where Republican hopes were lifted briefly by the candidacy of Tim Brown, a former firefighter with far-reaching connections to former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. The Senate Republican Campaign Committee poured $50,000 into the race before Brown had done much fundraising or campaigning of his own, hoping that his connections to the Giuliani world would help revive a battered Republican organization in the district.
But his campaign soon crumpled after top staff members-all former aides to Giuliani's presidential campaign-resigned abruptly, and the candidate himself declined to do any of the basic groundwork, according to Republican strategists familiar with the campaign.
But the risks of the new strategy have yet to scare off Republicans.
"I think it is important for Senator Skelos to show that he's not afraid to go in areas that people never thought Republicans would go into," Chromczack said. "I think the reality is different for Senator Skelos than it was for Senator Bruno or former SRCC chairs, and they've changed the game."
