NY-25: Republican Recruiting Woes

When seats opened in OH-15 and NJ-07 earlier in the year, Republicans moved quickly to recruit strong candidates - and failed, again and again. In OH-15, several candidates said no before someone twisted the arm of one of the first to drop out, and he got back in. In NJ-07, it took just a day for the top 3 potential contenders to say no thanks. That's in addition to having trouble finding challengers in seats like NY-19. Not many Republicans want to jeopardize their current lives in futile House runs, it seems.

Meanwhile, when Republican incumbent Jim Walsh announced he would be retiring from NY-25, Democrats already had a good challenger against him. The DCCC  quickly added Dan Maffei - already a Blue Majority candidate - to their Red to Blue list, signaling their recognition that he is a strong candidate. Which he is, having lost by just two points in 2006, and having raised more than half a million dollars in 2007.

So who's the NRCC going to get to challenge Maffei in 2008? Not Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick, until now considered their top recruitment prospect. He's announced that he likes his current job just fine and won't be running. Here's hoping he's not the only one - can NY-25 outstrip OH-15 and NJ-07 in Republican recruiting failures?

On the web:

Dan Maffei for Congress
Blue Majority ActBlue page