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Bruce Blakeman
The GOP Convention Today
Jun 3rd - 8:08 am
Today is the third and last day of the Republican confab in NYC, and while it will almost certainly be less raucous than yesterday, there are some things left for the conventioneers to fight over.
At 8:30 a.m. Carl Paladino, who has been under pressure to drop his pledge to petition his way into a primary against the GOP gubernatorial nominee Rick Lazio, will hold a press conference to discuss his next move.
As of last night, sources close to Paladino were insisting he would stick to his guns and run, petitioning his way both onto the GOP ballot in the primary and an independent, Tea Party-related line in November, spending up to $10 million of his own cash on his campaign.
Some Republicans would very much like to see Paladino bow out and unite the party now that Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy has failed in his effort to primary Lazio. No doubt Democrats in AG Andrew Cuomo’s camp would prefer it if Paladino took his outspoken self – and his millions – elsewhere, too.
Speculation continues to mount as to how long state GOP Chairman Ed Cox will manage to hold on to his leadership post now that the rank-and-file has officially rejected his party-switching preferred gubernatorial candidate, Levy.
At this point, it looks highly unlikely that there will be a “no confidence” vote forced on Cox from the convention floor, with Lazio supporters reasoning that to do so would step on the message of their candidate and only serve to feed the whole “GOP-in-chaos” storyline.
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Hitting Malpass, Mysteriously (Updated)
May 19th - 12:34 pm
A CapTon commenter posted a link to this video that attacks Republican US Senate hopeful David Malpass for his connection to Bear Sterns, one of the big Wall Street banks that received a taxpayer-funded bailout and has been the object of considerable populist-driven anger ever since.
It’s a pretty straightforward hit, except for the very end, where whoever made it has tacked on the memorable endorsement of Bruce Blakeman’s dog that was used in an ad for his master’s very short-lived 2009 NYC mayoral run. Blakeman is, of course, one of Malpass’ GOP primary opponents.
I checked with Blakeman’s campaign spokesman Craig Miller, who said the video was definitely not made by anyone connected to his candidate. He actually said he had neither heard of, nor seen, the spot until I mentioned it.
(For the record, the dog is a Jack Russell named Sophie).
Blakeman announced his intention to challenge Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in January, making him the longest-running candidate in the field. He’s also the only contender to claim he has landed more than 25 percent of the weighted convention vote necessary to get onto the ballot, and today he announced the support of Rockland County GOP Chairman Vinnie Reda.
Former Rep. Joe DioGuardi is also in the race. He has the support of the Queens GOP. Malpass was endorsed last week by a slew of upstate county committees, including Wayne, Oneida and Essex.
UPDATE: Malpass spokeswoman Jessica Proud issued a response that appears in full after the jump.
King For Blakeman
May 13th - 10:31 am
After taking a pass on challenging Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand himself, Rep. Peter King is now serving as the honorary chairman for one of the three Republicans who have decided to take a crack at ousting her: Bruce Blakeman.
“Now, more than ever, New York needs a fighter in the Senate. A leader who will stand up and make the tough decisions needed to protect our state and our country,” the Long Island congressman said in a statement released by Blakeman’s campaign.
“Bruce Blakeman is clearly that person and I look forward to partnering with him to get our nation back on the right track. Bruce is a strong supporter of policies that will improve our security, intelligence and national defense capabilities.”
“He has outstanding homeland security credentials and firmly supports a strong national defense. Bruce will be a close partner in the U.S. Senate on homeland security issues facing our state and country.”
GOP Spokesman: Diana ‘Gearing Up’ For Senate Run
May 5th - 12:17 pm
State GOP spokesman Alex Carey confirms Orange County Executive Ed Diana is indeed “gearing up” to run against Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, which would make him the fourth Republican to launch a campaign to try to unseat the appointed junior senator this fall.
Carey said Diana has spoken to state GOP Chairman Ed Cox in the last week and was “encouraged” by chairman to throw his hat into the ring.
“I don’t think he’s made a final decision, but it certainly sounds like he’s gearing up to run, yes,” Carey told me. “It sounds like he’s leaning toward it and will make a decision in the very near future.”
According to a report just posted on-line by the City Hall newspaper, the “very near future” will be by the end of this week.
Already in the race: Former Port Authority board member Bruce Blakeman, former Rep. Joe DioGuardi, and economist David Malpass.
Diana has stepped up his public statements of late, including an out-of-the-blue press release in response to the “Spitzer-Cuomo” fued that recently erupted on the front page of the New York Times.
Blakeman’s Street Cred: I’m Less Rich Than My Opponents
Apr 26th - 12:43 pm
GOP US Senate hopeful Bruce Blakeman launched an unusual attack against his primary rivals this morning, basically saying he has more grassroots cred because he has loaned less of his own money to his campaign than they have to theirs.
The difference between me and my two Republican opponents is that I have actually raised a lot of money from individuals,” Blakeman told Capital Tonight’s Kaitlyn Ross.
“Yes, I have loaned my campaign about $150,000 because I wanted to demonstrate that I was committed to my own effort, but I’ve raised $300,000 from individuals all across the state and I’ve outraised my opponents combined.”
“Basically they’ve each lent themselves $1 million. And one of them has already started paying himself back. I guess he’s not too optimistic about his chances.”
Faso And Forbes For Malpass
Apr 14th - 10:31 am
And then there were three.
Economist David Malpass formally kicked off his campaign against Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand this morning, making him the third Republican to declare his intention to try to knock the Democratic junior senator from her appointed perch.
Malpass, president of the NYC-based economic research firm Encima Global and a former advisor to ex-presidents Bush (I) and Reagan, was joined on the steps of City Hall by his “long-time friend and fellow fiscal conservative” Steve Forbes, publisher of Forbes magazine, and former Assembly Minority Leader/2006 gubernatorial contender John Faso.
“David Malpass’ proven track record on promoting private sector growth makes him the ideal candidate to take on today’s serious challenges-I’m 100 percent behind him,” said Forbes.
Faso said Malpass would be a thinking-person’s senator, following in “the tradition of Pat Moynihan and Jim Buckley, someone who actually thinks about issues and knows what he’s talking about.”
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Q Poll: Gillibrand Advances (Slowly)
Apr 13th - 7:40 am
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s standing with New York voters has hit an all-time Q poll high since she ascended last winter to the seat once held by Hillary Clinton, but the junior senator isn’t out of the woods yet when it comes to the fall elections.
Poll respondents gave Gillibrand a 47-25 percent job approval rating and a 37-23 percent favorability rating. Thirty-nine percent still say they don’t know enough about the senator to have an opinion about her, despite the fact that she has been traveling the state, holding press conferences and issuing news releases with abandon.
Gillibrand easily defeats her first announced GOP challenger, Bruce Blakeman, 47-25. The poll did not include former Rep. Joe DioGuardi, who joined the fray in March, or David Malpass, who is formally announcing his candidacy tomorrow today.
Blakeman kicked off his campaign in January, but 87 percent of voters still have no idea who he is.
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