NY 20: Dem's Solid Receipts Indicate Race Is Not Over
By Fields Donegan, CQ Staff
The Republican leanings of the 20th Congressional District in eastern upstate New York have made four-term Republican Rep. John E. Sweeney an easy winner in his past elections.
But Democratic strategists have been touting lawyer Kirsten Gillibrand as a strong challenger to Sweeney, and they now have tangible evidence - in the form of her latest campaign finance report to the Federal Election Commission.
Gillibrand's strong early fundraising - which ranked her 14th among all House challenger candidates as of March 31 - has prompted CQPolitics.com to change its rating on the race to Republican Favored from Safe Republican.
Gillibrand reported raising $716,000 through the end of the year's first quarter, and had $511,000 left in cash on hand.
While some observers have expected Gillibrand to reach into her own pockets, nearly all of the money she raised so far has come from outside contributors: She received $666,000 from individuals, and her $45,000 from political action committees is a sign that her long-shot bid is drawing attention from Democratic Party support groups.
Sweeney, nonetheless, maintains a typical incumbent's fundraising advantage that is bolstered by his position on the influential House Appropriations Committee. Sweeney had $1.2 million total receipts and $962,000 cash on hand as of March 31.
Gillibrand must still prove she can compete with Sweeney on the 20th District turf. The largely rural district follows the state's eastern border from the Adirondack Mountains to New York City's outer exurbs, with a jut inland south and west of Albany. The district is favorable to Republicans, if not a GOP stronghold. President Bush outran Democrat John Kerry there in 2004 by 53 percent to 45 percent.
Sweeney's differences with the House Republican leadership, especially on some environmental and organized labor issues, and his willingness to work with House Democrats on some legislative goals have given him appeal beyond his Republican base. He took 66 percent in his 2004 race and 73 percent in 2002.
Sweeney spokeswoman Melissa Carlson said the incumbent is "very confident and proud of his record of fighting for New York priorities." She described Sweeney as "independent on issues and protecting New York's interests by bringing federal money back into the district."
But Bill Harris [sic], press secretary for the Gillibrand campaign, noted that Sweeney still votes most of the time with his conservative Republican colleagues and implied that he was allied with Texas Rep. Tom DeLay, the former House majority leader and conservative firebrand who is soon to resign in the midst of ethics controversies.
Harris [sic] described Sweeney himself as "cozy with special interest groups and lobbyists." The first attention-grabbing gambit by the Democrat's campaign was a satiric ad, posted on its Web site in January, poking fun at a ski trip to Utah that Sweeney had taken in the company of some lobbyists. Sweeney said the trip complied with House rules and pointed out that the lobbyists represented two of the 20th District's biggest employers.
Health care issues, including the newly implemented Medicare prescription drug benefit, have been among the biggest debating points between the candidates so far.
Sweeney is an advocate of the plan, which was approved by Congress in 2003 with mostly Republican votes, and says he would support a provision to extend the May 15 deadline for senior citizens to sign up for the program.
"Seniors have seen real savings and have experienced the opportunity to have more money in their pockets and less cost out of their pockets," Carlson stated. Though Sweeney and his team admit that the rollout of the complicated plan has caused some confusion and snafus for beneficiaries, Carlson said it is "better than the high cost seniors were having to pay before."
Gillibrand, though, describes the prescription drug plan as a "giveaway" that benefits pharmaceutical companies more than it does consumers. Spokesman Harris said the government's first priority should be to find a way to get prescription drug costs down, and contended that Gillibrand's background in law will help her investigate whether drug companies are price gouging.
CQPolitics.com presently rates the race as Republican Favored.