By Colin Campbell 10/04/12 11:17am

Air War

Tim Bishop's record of failure apparently needs to end. (Photo: YouTube)

Chamber of Commerce Ramps up Efforts in New York Congressional Races

This morning, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce officially set its sights on six congressional races across New York State and launched ads in each of them. Stretching from Long Island to Buffalo, the broadcast barrage attacks Democratic congressional incumbents Tim Bishop, Kathy Hochul, Bill Owens and Louise Slaughter, and attempts to beat back Democratic candidates Sean Patrick Maloney and Dan Maffei.

The size of the ad buy wasn’t immediately available, but the Chamber launched a significant $3.3 million campaign for California Republicans last week, so their New York  has the potential to be sizable. Read More

By Colin Campbell 8/20/12 10:52am

western new york

Kathy Hochul (Photo: YouTube)

Kathy Hochul Launches First Ad

Congresswoman Kathy Hochul has a tough race as she runs for reelection in New York’s most Republican district, and so it’s unsurprising that she’s out with an ad, entitled “Tough Choices,”  touting her breaks with Democratic Party orthodoxy. The independence-themed branding serves as a preemptive move against the inevitable attack linking her to President Barack Obama.

“We all know why Congress doesn’t work,” she begins, talking directly to the camera. “Tough choices need to be made and Washington doesn’t make tough choices. I’m Kathy Hochul and that’s why I voted for the Balanced Budget Amendment, it forces Congress to make tough choices.” Read More

By David Freedlander 2/06/12 3:48pm

stockpiling

Kathy Hochul 05-25-11

Schumer Raises for Hochul

Sen. Chuck Schumer is hosting a fundraiser later this month for Kathy Hochul, the upstate Congresswoman who won a squeaker of a special election last year that, according to the invite, “changed the national electoral landscape and energized the Democratic Party.”

Ms. Hochul, you may recall, won the seat held by Rep. Chris Lee after he resigned when half-naked photos used to attract women on Craigslist surfaced.  That seat strongly favored the GOP, but Ms. Hochul made an issue of her Republican opponent’s support of Paul Ryan’s budget and its effects on Medicare.

As Darren Rigger, a fundraiser for Ms. Hochul points out, it is a little unusual to have Sen. Schumer step out for a Congressional candidate like this. His counterpart in the Senate,  Kirsten Gillibrand, has been a far more aggressive presence, especially for newer and for female Democratic members of Congress. Read More

By Azi Paybarah 7/08/11 12:31pm

budget fights

Working Families Party Executive Director Dan Cantor. (photo credit: azi paybarah / observer)

WFP Disses Obama 'Timidity' After He Inches Towards Medicare Cuts

In another sign President Obama isn’t making friends on the left, or right, with his fiscal policies, out comes a harsh email from the labor-backed Working Families Party saying Obama shouldn’t respond to Republicans with “timidity.”

The outrage is over Obama signaling he may accept the GOP’s push for cuts to Social Security and Medicare to close the federal budget fight. Read More

By Reid Pillifant 7/07/11 1:19pm

Crazy Questions

gillibgrandhochulhardball

Chris Matthews Wonders: Gillibrand for Governor? [Video]

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand appeared on Hardball last night with her new best friend in Washington, Kathy Hochul, to talk about getting more women elected to office.

And Chris Matthews, who prefaced his question with some glowing praise — “I think you have a great future, everybody knows that, senator” — wanted to know if she might try to break the glass ceiling on the governor’s mansion. Read More

By Reid Pillifant 12:20pm

2012

Kathy Hochul Returns the Favor, Emails for Gillibrand

When Kathy Hochul first emerged as the Democratic candidate in the heavily-Republican 26th Congressional District, one of her early supporters was Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who gave $1,000 from her Empire PAC.

As the race progressed, Gillibrand sent out fundraising emails on Hochul’s behalf, and even ventured to the Buffalo area to campaign with Hochul.

Now, Read More

By Azi Paybarah 6/15/11 1:56am

anthony weiner

Staying or Going? Either way, Anthony Weiner isn't making it easy for New York. (photo credit: azi paybarah / observer)

Anthony’s Exposure: New York Has a Long Hard Weiner Problem

After a nationally watched campaign in upstate New York, Kathy Hochul made her New York City debut Monday morning at the stately University Club on West 54th Street.Hundreds of guests attending the Eleanor Roosevelt Legacy Breakfast milled around a breakfast buffet of muffins and fruit salad, while their host, Nora Brenes, introduced Mrs. Hochul as the winner of a special election “that came about as a result of our male New York congress members who keep taking their shirts off,” according to one attendee.

The crowd laughed, because an Anthony Weiner joke at a Democratic political function is one that needs no explanation. He is, much to the chagrin of his New York colleagues, everywhere: overshadowing their message, imperiling a safe congressional seat, and affecting their redistricting plans. Read More