By John Wilkes from Eyesonobama.com:
President Barack Obama today announced his selection for Secretary of the Army: Republican New York Congressman John McHugh. The nomination gives Democrats yet another opportunity to pick up a moderate Republican district, where Obama won with more than 52% in 2008.
President Barack Obama today announced his nomination of Republican Representative from the State of New York John McHugh to serve as Secretary of the Navy. The 18-year House veteran is expected to be confirmed quickly. The vacancy created by McHugh's pending resignation from Congress will require New York Governor David Paterson to set a date for a special election for the second time in less than six months.
The contest to replace him will likely spark a firestorm of political campaigning, echoing the tense tone of the April 2009 special election in the upstate New York 20th seat vacated by Kirstin Gillibrand- who herself had been appointed to replace Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the Senate. That race looked to be an excellent opportunity for Republicans to pick up a seat after successive maulings in the 2006 and 2008 election, and Democrats still managed to eke out a victory in the GOP-leaning district. This time around, things look to favor Democrats.
McHugh's district is undeniably moderate, perhaps even left-leaning. The district voted for President Barack Obama by more than 52% in the 2008 election, and sports a Cook Partisan Voting Index of D+2. To hold onto the seat, Republicans will be forced to spend large amounts of money at an incredibly vulnerable time. Struggling to gain traction on everything from the budget, the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court, losing a veteran Senator to a party switch, and preparing for what is analysts are predicting is likely to be another losing round in 2010, winning a special election now with underdog status will be an enormously difficult task.
McHugh is just the latest in a long line of Republican appointments to by the Obama Administration. The 44th President began his tenure in office by keeping Defense Secretary Robert Gates on board, then appointed Republican Congressman Ray LaHood to head the Department of Transportation. Republican Senator Judd Gregg received an appointment to head up the Commerce Department, though Gregg voluntarily withdrew his nomination under pressure from fellow GOPers to remain in the Senate. More recently, Republican Utah Governor Jon Hunstman was appointed Ambassador to China.
McHugh's appointment also continues an increasing trend of political strategy in Obama's selection process. In addition to bringing high levels of experience and expertise, appointees like Gregg, Huntsman, and McHugh have all served the dual purpose of advancing Democratic electoral interests. Huntsman was seen as a potential challenger to Obama in 2012, while the appointments of Gregg and McHugh created vacancies that give Democrats excellent opportunities to pad their already-considerable majorities.
Should Democrats be successful in replacing McHugh with one of their own, the balance of power in the House of Representatives would become even more lopsided, 258 Democrats (59%) to just 177 Republicans (41%).
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