3rd time a charm? Jack Davis looking at running again in the NY 26th
OK - Iowa is over - time to look at the NY-26th.
From the Buffalo news -(h/t anna)
Democrat Jack Davis, the Amherst industrialist who came within a whisker of defeating Republican Rep. Thomas M. Reynolds in 2006, says he is leaning toward another congressional run in 2008.
[snip]
Davis said he is aware of his two possible opponents in a Democratic primary but said he has no doubt that his considerable wealth would enable him to defeat both.
“If he wants to run a primary against me, it’s a free country,†he said of Powers. “But I don’t think I will have any trouble beating him.â€
[snip]
Davis said he expects to conduct polling with an eye toward a final decision in March.
So keep an eye for a March decision from Davis. Personally, I think Powers wins the primary.
[btp here: You've got to be kidding me. Davis is running on his "considerable wealth"??? Try getting out and meeting people, buddy! Powers, in the short couple months he's been in the race, has already met with more constituents than Davis did his whole campaign in 2004. This is an example of everything that's wrong with US politics.]
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Jack Davis’ heart is certainly in the right place, and I know people who know him personally and say he’s a great guy. But electorally, I think NY26 has got to be getting kind of sick of him. Certainly, Dems in that district have to consider a new strategy - and a new candidate - if they want to get Reynolds this time around.
C’mon, Jack! Put your money behind a promising young kid and lets just win this thing!
Jack Davis thinks the way to run for Congress is to go all-in on TV and radio spots. He has no ground game. That might work for Senate or the Presidency, but a Congressional run is retail politics, and he’s not willing to invest the time and effort to do it.
Also, in general, political parties that rely on millionaires just because they can self-finance don’t win too many elections, simply because money is a necessary but not sufficient condition for winning. cf. Huckleberry vs the Mormonator 3000 last night.
seems as though the dems are determined to help Reynolds win this one. Powers is the correct candidate for the 26th.
Please Jack, leave it alone, we have a really good chance of unseating Reynolds with Powers.
We should NEVER discourage someone from running. I think Jack Davis shares our frustration with the current government system, and deserves our respect for what he has done in representing a choice twice in the past against Reynolds.
But I think that Jack Davis also knows that the 26th Congressional seat cannot be his. I think that with the variety of office seats up and available at the State level, Jack would be best served by standing behind Jon Powers, who CANNOT be beat, and running for State Office in a capacity that he can work WITH Jon Powers to make New York a better place.
We need a Jack Davis in Albany to shake things up. I think that is the level where people can stand behind him and he can win it.
There is NO ONE who is more qualified for the 26th CD than Jon Powers, who will win and be our hero, not only in our hearts, but in Washington. It’s once in a lifetime that you get a candidate like this - and I’m so glad and proud he’s in my district. If anyone has not had the opportunity to meet Jon, do so at all costs. You will NOT be disappointed. Right now Jon is hosting a challenge of 30 house parties in 30 days. If you can - you should. Sign up at http://www.powersforcongress.com. Or make a donation to support this man. Even a small donation is an investment in something that will be incredible!
To Jack Davis - please consider State level government - New York is bleeding and needs your strong will and conviction to make New York whole and great again.
To Jon Powers - All the way to Washington Jon!
Self-funding candidates are a special case for me. I would be disappointed if Davis got in and spent millions derailing Powers.
Powers is a fresh face, with progressive ideals in a district that desparately needs change from the status quo representation of Tom Reynolds. I think another Davis run would inevitably end in yet another loss, no matter how close ~ I think change is the motto of 2008 and Powers is part of that change. I volunteered for the Davis campaign in my end of the 26th last time and never met him even once, very weak ground game indeed…so far I have met Jon twice and we’re just getting started…it could just be me being in the right place at the right time but nonetheless Powers is the candidate for me.
That would be interesting.
Jack Davis in Albany. Who is the State Senator or Assembly person in his district?
We are sick of him. That’s why we don’t want him to run again. He flaunts his money around like it means something and it doesn’t. He certainly didn’t buy his way to victory in 2004 OR 2006.
He’s old news. He had his (two) turns. Now let someone else try.
I couldn’t agree more. His only ground game included a bunch of dedicated volunteers who worked hard canvassing (phone and door-to-door) for him. I spent one day at his HQ’s for three hours on the phone and never saw Davis once. I know many others throughout the district who worked hard and Davis never thanked them.
Jack Davis will be a fan favorite of Len Lenihan’s in Erie County. Lenihan doesn’t want to fork over the dough for anyone. Enter Davis. The problem is that if Davis runs, Lenihan has said in the past that Davis would get his support. What a stinging rebuke of Lenihan it would be if Lenihan supports Davis and Powers kills him in the primary.
I don’t discourage anyone from running - but Jack Davis shouldn’t be running here. His excuse is that Jon Powers and Alice Kryzan don’t get it. He also is playing the money card, acting as if he could enter this race at the last minute and still win it because he’s got the wallet for it.
Davis wouldn’t fit in state government. He is limited on the issues. I wouldn’t want him as my state rep. anyway. Davis only cares about one thing: Jack Davis. After all, if he cared about anyone else, he would’ve thrown his support behind Jon Powers months ago.
That would be Senator Mary Lou Rath, Republican. And since Davis’ big thing is jobs and industrial re-development in NYS (upstate included) it would be a perfect fit for him. Her last election results were:
VOTE IN 2006 GENERAL ELECTION
Mary Lou Rath, Rep. 52,936; Ind. 7,017; Con. 7,263 67,216
Richard L. Woll, Dem. 31,423
Now if he picks up the WFP and Dem endorsements, and can capture the Independents, he could actually take that Senate seat. I think since he’s a known entity in the area, and his platform is well understood in that Senate seat, he would be a perfect fit. With his ability to finance his own campaign, this is a doable thing for him and a great place for him to take a seat he CAN win, instead of trying yet a third time to capture one he hasn’t been able to victor.
That way, once he is able to accomplish positive things, his reputation of being elected for the people will be clearer, instead of the impression that he’s trying to buy himself a seat in Congress. And that’s a major negative working against him. I like to call it “Golisano Syndrome”.
Jack Davis was handed NY26 on a platter and threw it away. Reynolds will never be as vulnerable as he was in 06 and Davis blew it. We need someone who is dedicated and deserving. As a resident of the 26th, I am INSULTED that Davis says he can buy the primary. He barely came to Monroe county in 06 or 04 and he actually said to the press that he didn’t want to “waste his time” going to Dansville if there are only 3 people there. He’s oblivious and arrogant. Davis might have the capital, but he will never have the support. Let him run, the spanking he’ll get from Powers might teach him a lesson.
I think you read the quote wrong . It was a comment from DAVIS saying DAVIS would win the primary against Powers.
Looks like I misread the quote - thanks =
Still I’m sure Powers would say he would win a primary.
I’ll adjust the original post.
This discussion goes to the root of our problem: money has far to much influence in our political system. Being wealthy is not a winning platform in a general election, let alone a democratic primary.
Nonetheless, Jack Davis seems like a nice, well meaning guy, but he makes a poor candidate. A quality, viable candidate is one (as has been stated above) willing to go door-to-door and get their message directly to the voters. Jack didn’t do that in 04 and he didn’t do that in 06. There’s no reason to think he would do it in 08 if given the chance.
With all of that being said, I’m still more than happy to give Davis the chance to earn my support, but the only time I’ll truly listen to his overtures is when he knocks on my front door asking for my vote.
Like some others here I worked some on the Davis campaign in ‘06. I also never met him and was disappointed in the campaign that he ran. Unlike some of those who have posted here, I am totally unimpressed with what I know of Davis as a person and as a politician. A good friend of mine worked for Davis at Davis’ company (I2R) and said that Davis was the biggest As…ole he had ever worked for. A total tyrant. My friend (whose judgement of people I trust) left after several months.
As for Davis as a politician, he was basically a one-issue candidate (keeping jobs in the US)(as if a first term congressman could do anything about that!). Other than that, his politics are basically Republican. In fact he was a Republican, and switched parties so he could run against Reynolds.
So why did I support Davis? 1). To get Reynolds out. 2). Because what is important in Congress is how many members each party has. Remember, in 2006 the Democrats were trying to win back Congress, so every Democrat elected was important.
Now I am backing Powers.