By Colin Campbell 5/20 12:08pm

Ballin'

Senator Ball. (Photo: Observer media file)

Greg Ball Says He Won’t Run for Congress

GOP State Senator Greg Ball, an outspoken Hudson Valley legislator who repeatedly knocked then-Rep. Nan Hayworth last year–even threatening to run a primary campaign against her–is taking his hat out of the ring. In a statement released late this morning, Mr. Ball said he was focused on his work in Albany and had no overriding desire to defeat the Democrat who ultimately beat Ms. Hayworth, Sean Patrick Maloney.

“I want to make it clear that I am focused on finishing this legislative session and delivering for my current district and not running for Congress,” he said. “As for my re-election in the current State Senate seat, I will make a final decision on that as the time nears.” Read More

By Colin Campbell 11/12/12 10:42am

Post-mortems

(Photo: YouTube)

Rep. Hayworth Reflects on Her Loss: ‘It’s a Tough Life’

A number of key New York congressional seats were at stake election day last week. When all the votes were counted, though there were over a half-dozen competitive races only three districts changed partisan hands. One of those belonged to Hudson Valley Rep. Nan Hayworth, a freshman Republican who came in on the Tea Party wave two years ago and narrowly lost her seat this time around to Democratic attorney Sean Patrick Maloney. On Friday, Ms. Hayworth went on Richard French Live to look back on her unsuccessful election, as well as the broader national race.

“Look, Hurricane Sandy did have an effect on the public discourse,” she contended. “There are issues of momentum that affected races like mine. The President had a substantial percentage margin over Governor Romney and we had known if there were a really large margin for the president, above say 5 points, that that would be very hard for us to overcome structurally in the new district that I was running in.” Read More

By Colin Campbell 10:22am

hudson valley hostility

(Photo: YouTube)

Sean Patrick Maloney Goes All-Out With Tea Party Imagery

Democrat Sean Patrick Maloney really wants you to associate incumbent Rep. Nan Hayworth with the Tea Party movement, at least if his television advertisements are any indication.

“Congresswoman Nan Hayworth’s gone Tea Party on us, and it’s not pretty: voting to end Medicare to pay for tax breaks for millionaires….like her,” the narrator in Mr. Maloney’s first commercial declared as constituents are shown sipping tea and gagging at the bitter taste. Read More

By Colin Campbell 8/16/12 1:40pm

Spiking The Football

Nan Hayworth (Photo: Facebook)

Sean Patrick Maloney Makes Fun of Hayworth for Losing Indy Line Appeal

Hudson Valley Congressman Nan Hayworth’s bid to hold onto the Independence Party line was thwarted in appeals court yesterday and the Republican will have one less spot on the ballot as she competes against Democratic attorney Sean Patrick Maloney this November. Not content to leave the news stand on its own, Mr. Maloney blasted out a statement this afternoon entitled, “Hayworth Can’t Find 770 Independent Voters Who Want Her Back.”

Of course, “Independent” voters aren’t the same thing as the more common “independent” variety, but Mr. Maloney felt her inability to secure enough signatures to spoke to her conservative ideology and votes. Read More

By Colin Campbell 6/11/12 11:03am

42 for spm

(Photo: Getty)

Big Dog Endorses Sean Patrick Maloney

Sean Patrick Maloney, who served as an adviser to President Bill Clinton between 1997 and 2000, just got his former boss’s backing for his congressional campaign. Mr. Maloney is running for the Democratic nomination to take on GOP Rep. Nan Hayworth in November, and the public support from a popular Democrat like Mr. Clinton is a nice thing to have in his back pocket.

“I support Sean because I know he’ll be an outstanding member of Congress,” Mr. Clinton said in a statement. “Sean worked closely with me in the White House to create jobs, grow our economy and balance the budget. It’s time to bring a common sense approach back to Congress, and Sean Patrick Maloney is the right Democrat to help restore the economy and get people back to work in the Hudson Valley.” Read More

By Colin Campbell 6/08/12 2:03pm

ny-18

Sean Patrick Maloney (Photo: Patrick McMullan)

Sean Patrick Maloney Rolling Up Labor Support

Sean Patrick Maloney, a leading Democratic contender to take on freshman GOP Rep. Nan Hayworth has been pulling in significant union endorsements in recent weeks. The latest announcements came today from the New York State United Teachers and the AFL-CIO, giving Mr. Maloney a nice boost as he seeks to defeat his Democratic opponents on June 26th.

Together, the two unions claim to represent over 3 million individuals in the state and join previous powerhouse unions like 32BJ SEIU and 1199 SEIU in supporting Mr. Maloney. Read More

By Colin Campbell 6/04/12 9:52am

acid-gate

Rich Becker (Photo: Facebook)

Becker Stays on Nan Hayworth’s ‘Acid Hurling’ Controversy

Rich Becker, a Democratic candidate to take on GOP Rep. Nan Hayworth in November, has no intention of letting Nan Hayworth’s spokesman off the hook for suggesting acid should be hurled onto female Democratic senators who fail to hire equitably within their own staffs.

Although the spokesman, Jay Townsend, apologized for the comment, Mr. Becker is arguing Ms. Hayworth needs to fire him to fully rectify the situation. Mr. Becker sent her a letter today, which you can view below, repeating that position, and he’s holding a rally outside of her office later this morning to further emphasize the point. Read More

By David Freedlander 6/01/12 5:09pm

Congress

nan hayworth

Hayworth Doubles Down On ‘Acid Hurling’ Attack; Becker, Right Wing Blogs Pounce

Earlier today, Bruce Harvie, campaign manager for Nan Hayworth spoke publicly about campaign spokesman Jay Townsend’s comments on a Facebook page in which he suggested “hurling acid” at female Democratic senators.

And in his statement Mr. Harvie blamed the campaign of Richard Becker, one of a handful of Democrats vying to compete against Ms. Hayworth in November.

“This is a manufactured controversy by a campaign operation that has, for months, hurled offensive rhetoric and imagery at Nan Hayworth on various Facebook pages, including the one mentioned today. It is a matter of public record that the moderator of the page in question, while purporting to represent an objective point of view, is on the payroll of the Becker campaign. And in behalf of the Becker campaign, the moderator has tolerated extremely hostile and explicit comments against Dr. Hayworth. Only now have the media chosen to pay attention to this particular battlefield in the war against a woman who has the temerity to be a Republican Member of Congress.” Read More

By Hunter Walker 6/01/12 9:00am

Acid Trip

Dr. Richard Becker (Photo: Facebook)

Opponent Demands Congresswoman Hayworth Fire Spokesman After ‘Acid Attack’ Comments

Richard Becker, the Cortlandt town councilman and cardiologist who is running against Republican Congresswoman Nan Hayworth demanded she fire her campaign spokesman, Jay Townsend, following comments he made on the Facebook page of a local Democrat activist saying, “let’s hurl some acid at those female democratic Senators who won’t abide the mandates they want to impose on the private sector.” According to Mr. Becker described Mr. Townsend’s comments as “indefensible” and said it is “just mind boggling” Ms. Hayworth did not “instantly fire him.”

“With every minute ‘No Comment’ Nan refuses to take a stand, she takes on responsibility for Jay’s hateful and hurtful remarks,” Mr. Becker said. “Refusing to take a stand now and fire Townsend would permanently mark Nan as unfit to hold public office and unworthy of the public’s trust.” Read More