New York's Republican Primary Produces Upset

Primary elections were held in New York State on Sept. 14. For the first time, a new method of voting was used. Ballots were scanned and recorded electronically, and the old, lever-operated machines were no more.

The Republican primary locally had four statewide races: governor, lieutenant governor, Senate (2-year term -- Hillary Clinton's former seat) and Senate, against Democrat Chuck Schumer.

The two races being watched were for governor, and to run for the remaining two years of Clinton's Senate seat.

The primary for governor featured businessman and fellow Western New Yorker Carl Paladino against endorsed candidate Rick Lazio. Paladino was the Tea Party candidate, and appears to have thoroughly trounced his opponent.

As one of the few in Rochester who can say that they were present at the first local Tea Party protest, I voted for Paladino. As a long time observer of New York politics, it may be more accurate to say that I voted against Rick Lazio. Lazio has run for statewide office in the past and shown no spark, no drive. Paladino has faults, but he seems to have a fierce determination to win. Lazio has never shown me that.

The two-year Senate term is important, both for New York and nationally. The current Senator is Democrat appointee Kirsten Gillibrand. The seat may be in play, and the Republican Party nationally is looking to potentially regain control of the Senate with enough upsets. The primary winner was Joseph DioGuardi, who also carries the Conservative Party endorsement.

I'm not convinced that Gillibrand can be beaten in November. I voted for DioGuardi as the candidate with the most backing. If the seat is going to turn Republican, he will need to have support from the entire Republican Party, as well as independents.

The race for lieutenant governor is fairly meaningless. It is not tied to that of the governor, so, in theory, they could be of differing parties, but that rarely happens. Win the governor's race, win the lieutenant governor's race.

The choice to run against Democratic incumbent Senator Chuck Schumer is also meaningless. In what may be a disastrous year for Democrats running for Congress, Schumer is probably one of the few guaranteed not to lose. He has solid support state wide and is virtually unbeatable. Jay Townsend won the Republican primary to be their ritual sacrifice. I voted for his opponent, a former CIA analyst.

The Governor's race in New York will be a real slugfest. Both Carl Palidino and his Democratic rival, Andrew Cuomo, run no-holds-barred campaigns. It should be an election like none New York has seen in decades.

Kirsten Gillibrand is beatable. Is Joe DioGuardi the Republican to accomplish that mission? We shall see. Both are unknown quantities statewide, so the next few weeks will be very interesting.