SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- It wasn't long after republican James Walsh's narrow victory in the 2006 congressional elections that his democratic opponent, Dan Maffei, announced he would try again in 2008.
Maffei seemed to have a clear shot at the nomination once again until late January, when Walsh stunned the local political scene by announcing he would not run again. Now Maffei may face obstacles. The biggest threat -- Syracuse's mayor Matt Driscoll who has now formed an exploratory committee to do some preliminary fundraising and pay for polling on whether he might succeed, should he run.
Maffei's campaign organization claims to be unconcerned about the Driscoll moves.
“I think folks here are really excited about Dan Maffei and I think that that's been seen by the support that we've gotten from Monroe County to Wayne County, from elected officials and all across the district,” said Dan Krupnick, Maffei campaign manager.
Democrats say they have a golden opportunity, this year to claim a long-time republican seat in the House of Representatives from Central New York's 25th District. Our Bill Carey says the party may first have to settle a battle over just who its candidate for congress will be.
Another consideration for the mayor, as he considers jumping into the congressional race, is the fact that he may be opposed by one of the more powerful political organizations in the country.
The democratic congressional campaign committee, also known as the DCCC, the campaign arm for the democratic majority in the house, has already thrown in with the Maffei campaign. Its chair, Congressman Chris Van Hollen, has appeared alongside the candidate and the group has helped to provide substantial funding, giving Maffei a big edge in money available for any primary battle.
“They think that Dan Maffei has the right message for Central New York and that's what they're focused on making sure happens, that Dan is going to be the best and strongest candidate that they can possibly have,” Krupnick said.
Driscoll claims to be unfazed by the DCCC's backing for Maffei. In the end, he claims, it will be Central New Yorkers who decide the nomination, not democratic leaders in Washington.
The mayor is calling this exploratory phase a testing of the waters. In addition to some fundraising and polling, the federal designation also allows him to do some traveling and to make some phone calls to discuss the upcoming race.