By Colin Campbell 2/23/12 4:28pm

going big

Wendy Long

Wendy Long Announces Senate Campaign

Manhattan Attorney Wendy Long has formally entered the Republican primary for New York’s U.S. Senate seat, according to a letter to County GOP leaders unearthed by Capitol Confidential. The move places her on a collision course in the Republican primary with Nassau County Comptroller George Maragos, and, should she be successful there, a general election against the incumbent, Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.

“I am writing to tell you that I have just directed my initial papers to be filed with the FEC to run against Kirsten Gillibrand for the United States Senate, and to ask for the chance to show you that I am the most effective advocate to take the fight to Gillibrand on behalf of all of us New York Republicans and Conservatives,” Ms. Long wrote in the letter. Read More

By Colin Campbell 2/07/12 8:47am

whoops

George Maragos (Photo: Facebook)

Maragos Apologizes for Conservative Confusion

U.S. Senate candidate George Maragos raised some eyebrows the other day when he announced the endorsement of the “Conservative Party USA (NY)” on the same day that he, and other potential candidates, met with the far more influential New York State Conservative Party.

Asked about this last night on Inside City Hall, Mr. Maragos offered a round of apologies for the confusion.

“The Conservative Party USA endorsed me, it’s a small party. I apologize for the confusion that  may have caused, because that’s a different party [from] the New York party headed by Mike Long,” he said. “I called Mike Long personally to apologize in that regard.” Read More

By Colin Campbell 1/16/12 11:15am

good numbers

Gillibrand poll

Kirsten Gillibrand Continues to Look Strong for Reelection

In addition to polling Governor Cuomo, Siena College also surveyed support for Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who will be facing reelection in November after winning reelection in 2010 to serve the final two years of Hillary Clinton’s term. Although her favorability numbers are just a smidgen under an outright 50% majority, she dominates when paired against her largely unknown Republican opponents, making the task of defeating her a tall order.

The Sienna poll found Senator Gillibrand beating Nassau County Comptroller George Maragos 63% to 22% and former New York Comptroller candidate Harry Wilson 63% to 23%. The poll did not test the CEO of the executive job-hunting site TheLadders.com, Marc Cenedella. Both Mr. Cenedella and Mr. Maragos are campaigning actively for the seat, while Mr. Wilson has only said that he’s considering a campaign Read More

By Colin Campbell 1/09/12 9:37am

million dollar man

George Maragos

George Maragos Says He's Already Put $1 Million Into His Senate Campaign

Nassau County Comptroller George Maragos, who’s running in the GOP primary against Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, has recently given his campaign a big boost in the form of a million dollars, he announced at a Sunday event hosted by the Brooklyn Tea Party.

Mr. Maragos, a former Vice President at Chase and Citicorp, had already acknowledged in a December Capital Tonight interview that he would commit up to $5 million into his own campaign if he got the Republican nomination, and that he had placed around $120,000 into his primary thus far.

But now it seems he has significantly expanded his investment. “By the way, in the financial disclosure that I’m making, as of December 31st, I’ve already put a million dollars into my campaign account,” Mr. Maragos said in response to a question about how he’d compete financially on such a large stage. Read More