Big New York Times piece on NY-29
The New York Times has devoted an entire article to NY-29. A political science professor they interview says things will be different for Kuhl this time around:
Stephen Coleman, dean of faculty and associate professor of political science for Elmira College in the district, said Kuhl’s ability to move federal dollars will be tested now that he is for the first time a member of a House Republican minority rather than the majority. “Can he continue to bring back the bacon?†Coleman asked rhetorically.
Coleman added, “This time around, Kuhl will have to show independence from President Bush.â€
Massa pulls out the old super glue stand-by we’ve come to know and love:
“The Iraq war and making the Bush tax cuts permanent are two things Randy Kuhl supports,†said Massa, who served in the Persian Gulf War of the early 1990s. “He has veered far right. Instead of moderating, he has super-glued himself†to Bush.
They talk to Nachbar as well. He’s pulling out the Democratic Leadership Council third way stuff, which might go over great if it were still 1992:
“People are tired of playing party lines and they just want people that give answers,†Nachbar said. He added, “Randy Kuhl will not have one but two terms to improve the district and that license has expired.â€
The article mentions the geography of the 29th a bit but doesn’t go into much detail:
The biggest difference between Massa and Nachbar may be geographical. Massa’s hometown of Corning is in the Southern Tier, also the home base to Republican officeholders Kuhl (who lives in Hammondsport) and Houghton (a Corning resident and former chief executive officer of the Corning glass company that his family has long headed). Nachbar, though, is from the portion of the Rochester suburbs that was annexed to the traditional core of the district in the congressional redistricting that preceded the 2002 election.
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