Former Congressman Scott Murphy (D - Glens Falls)
With the unexpected retirement announcement of three-term congressman Bill Owens (D - Plattsburgh) in New York's 21st Congressional District, attention is now turning to who will next hold the Democratic mantle in the huge, sprawling 16,500 acre district, which includes most of the state's rural North Country and Adirondack regions, as well as a large swath of predominantly suburban Saratoga County.
Some prospective candidates currently being discussed amongst Democratic officials include former Congressman Scott Murphy (D - Glens Falls), who previously represented the now-defunct Upper Hudson Valley-based 20th Congressional District, former State Senator Darrel Aubertine (D - Cape Vincent), who was elected in a 2008 special election to become the first Democrat since the Civil War to represent portions of Jefferson, Oswego and St. Lawrence Counties, as well as Assemblywoman Addie Russell (D - Jefferson County), who has probably maintained the most progressive voting record in the New York State Legislature amongst all non-urban legislators, even despite representing a conservative-leaning, ancestrally Republican district in the St. Lawrence Valley.
Potential candidates currently on the short list:
Former Rep. Scott Murphy (D - Glens Falls) - Former Congressman Scott Murphy has probably been the most frequently discussed Democratic successor to Bill Owens. Murphy, a venture capitalist, was elected to represent the former Upper Hudson Valley-based 20th Congressional District in 2009 after Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand was appointed to the United States Senate by then-Governor David Patterson. While in Congress, Murphy was a member of the Blue Dog caucus and was considered one of the most conservative Democrats in the House, taking a more hawkish stance on military issues and opposing virtually all gun control measures, which earned him the endorsement of the NRA when running for re-election. Even despite taking more conservative stances on numerous issues to appease a predominantly Republican constituency, it wasn't enough to shelter Murphy from the Tea Party Wave in 2010, when he was defeated by Congressman Chris Gibson (R - Kinderhook) by a fairly wide margin.
Commissioner of Agriculture Darrell Aubertine (D - Cape Vincent) - The former New York State Senator from Jefferson County who now serves as Andrew Cuomo's Agriculture Commissioner has also been discussed as a potential Democratic congressional candidate in the 21st District. Aubertine has certainly proven himself to be politically savy, becoming the first Democrat elected to represent parts of Jefferson, St. Lawrence and Oswego Counties since the Civil War era. Unfortunately, Aubertine is quite socially conservative, and maintained a voting record opposing both reproductive choice and embryonic stem cell research while he served in the New York State Legislature.
Assemblywoman Addie Russell (D - Jefferson County) - The progressive Assemblywoman from the Watertown-area has also expressed an interest in running for congress in the 21st District. While Russell is highly articulate and well-respected amongst her constituency, she may face significant heat for her vote in favor of the SAFE ACT, which is highly unpopular amongst many gun owners and sportsmen throughout the district.
From The Hill, January 15, 2014:
Former Democratic Rep. Scott Murphy says he's open to a run for retiring Rep. Bill Owens’ (D-N.Y.) seat, according to a local report.
If Murphy jumped in, he would give Democrats a strong contender for the seat, which became more competitive for Republicans with Owens’s retirement announcement this week.
“I’m not making any decisions right now, but I love the North Country and am committed to finding the best way I can to continue to help create good jobs and strengthen the economy for hardworking families,” he told Capital New York in an email.
Murphy was elected to represent New York’s 20th District in a special election to replace Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) in 2009 but subsequently lost the seat to Chris Gibson (R) in 2010. He now lives in the 21st district, following redistricting, and previously represented much of it in Congress.
National Democrats see Murphy as a very strong contender for the seat, partly because the venture capitalist would be able to pour some of his own money into the race.
Agriculture Commissioner Darrel Aubertine, state Assemblywoman Addie Russell and Plattsburgh Supervisor Bernie Bassett are a handful of the other Democrats who could also run.
Read more: http://thehill.com/...
Follow us: @thehill on Twitter | TheHill on Facebook