NY-26th Designated “Toss Up” by Cook Report
The Cook Political Report, which rates races on a 7-point scale, made the following announcement in the wake of Tom Reynolds’ retirement (bold mine):
By the numbers, Reynolds’s suburban Buffalo-to-Rochester district is the second most Republican in upstate New York, and any number of Republicans could put Reynolds’s formidable political operation to work to keep the seat in the GOP column. Plus, there is little doubt that much of the $862,000 Reynolds reported in cash on hand at the end of 2007 will find its way into the district this fall. But its newly open status should bring the likely Democratic nominee, Iraq veteran and teacher Jon Powers, the flood of money and attention he has sought for months. This becomes the latest GOP open seat addition to the Toss Up column.
Only 13 of the 435 congressional seats are listed as “Toss up,” making the race for NY-26th one of the most competitive in the country.
This is great news, as Jon Powers is clearly the Democrats’ best shot at taking this seat. The sooner the press, the $ contributing types, and rival candidates figure this out, the better for us all. This ranking being based on the assumption that Powers will be the nominee should help make the case.