Republicans Say 'Incompetent' Democrats Are Blowing It In A Key House District
Wikimedia Commons
In a sarcastic statement emailed Monday, a spokesman for the House Republicans' campaign arm thanked his Democratic counterparts at the DCCC for being "incompetent as ever" in their recruiting.
"The NRCC is so grateful that .... the folks at the DCCC have chosen to put their incompetence on full display in New York's 11th Congressional district," NRCC spokesman Ian Prior said. (The statement was accompanied by an image of the DCCC's chair, Rep. Ben Ray Luján (D-New Mexico), with the text "SAME OLD FAILURES.")
State Assemblyman Michael Cusick (D) announced Sunday that he will not for to run for the seat, which was vacated this month after Rep. Michael Grimm (R-New York) pleaded guilty to tax fraud. Local Democratic Party sources previously told Business Insider that Cusick was their preferred candidate to take on the Republican nominee, District Attorney Daniel Donovan.
Donovan will not be easy to beat even though he is at the center of a national controversy. Intense protests rocked the city in December after a grand jury dismissed charges against the white police officer who was videotaped placing an unarmed African-American man, Eric Garner, in an apparent chokehold shortly before his death. Activists criticized Donovan's failure to obtain an indictment. However, a recent poll showed Staten Island voters think the grand jury made the right decision.
That same poll, which was conducted by the DCCC and published last week by Capital New York, also gave Donovan an overwhelming lead over Cusick despite the competitive nature of the district. In his statement, Prior questioned why the Democrats sent the unfavorable poll results out. He also mocked former City Councilman Domenic Recchia, the last Democratic candidate in the district, who was widely criticized for running a poor campaign.
"Whether it's leaking a disastrous poll or failing to land its two top choices to run for Congress, we are certainly thankful and looking forward to watching another D-level Democrat flail away in embarrassment in a district Democrats need to win just to be able to sniff the majority in 2016," he quipped.
Reached for comment, DCCC spokesman Josh Schwerin told Business Insider that Republicans should remember Grimm's party affiliation.
"The NRCC left something out of their timeline - that Michael Grimm was their candidate and a former member of the their leadership who got a felony conviction to create this open seat in the first place," he said.
Schwerin also conceded that Donovan is a favorite in the special election, but said Democrats were planning on taking the seat back in the next regularly scheduled contest.
"We've always said that this district is very challenging for Democrats in a special election, but it is going to be competitive in November of 2016," he continued.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) has yet to schedule the special election. Other potential Democratic candidates include former Rep. Michael McMahon (D-New York). The district includes Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn.
- A centenarian who starts her day with gentle exercise and loves walks shares 5 longevity tips, including staying single
- A couple accidentally shipped their cat in an Amazon return package. It arrived safely 6 days later, hundreds of miles away.
- FSSAI in process of collecting pan-India samples of Nestle's Cerelac baby cereals: CEO
- India's e-commerce market set to skyrocket as the country's digital economy surges to USD 1 Trillion by 2030
- Top 5 places to visit near Rishikesh
- Indian economy remains in bright spot: Ministry of Finance
- A surprise visit: Tesla CEO Elon Musk heads to China after deferring India visit
- Unemployment among Indian youth is high, but it is transient: RBI MPC member
- JNK India IPO allotment date
- JioCinema New Plans
- Realme Narzo 70 Launched
- Apple Let Loose event
- Elon Musk Apology
- RIL cash flows
- Charlie Munger
- Feedbank IPO allotment
- Tata IPO allotment
- Most generous retirement plans
- Broadcom lays off
- Cibil Score vs Cibil Report
- Birla and Bajaj in top Richest
- Nestle Sept 2023 report
- India Equity Market