| Today is Primary Day. Even though there isn't a congressional primary or a statewide primary, there are a few contests where some high-profile primaries are taking place that pit incumbents or well-known candidates against lesser known opponents.
Albany-Mayor: The battle in the state's capital in the Democratic primary puts Mayor Jerry Jennings up against Corey Ellis. As Soundpolitic has reported, the race is closer than it has been. Ellis has run an uphill battle against the entrenched Jennings, but if there is one thing you can take away from the primary in Albany, it's that such an entrenched individual is getting a challenge. Ellis is doing surprisingly well against Jennings, but he still might come up short.
Buffalo-Mayor: The race in the Democratic primary between Mayor Byron Brown and Mickey Kearns has turned into quite a battle. Brown has a lot going against him. He has scandal after scandal working against him, but the poll numbers still show a small lead for him. The major theme of this race has been old leadership versus new leadership. Brown's city government and political operation have crossed paths one too many times and that is why Kearns stressed openness and transparency and a government free of the tactics that Brown has become known for.
There are also multiple primaries in New York City, as expected. There is a battle for Public Advocate. The other races on the ballot include a primary to decide who will replace Comptroller Bill Thompson, who is running for mayor. Another big race is who will win the Manhattan District Attorney's race. The primary will likely decide who is the next DA, since there is no Republican running.
From the New York Times:
In the race for public advocate, the best-known candidate is Mark Green, who held the post for two terms until he ran for mayor in 2001. His chief rivals are Councilman Bill de Blasio of Brooklyn, who has broad institutional support from groups like unions and the Working Families Party; Councilman Eric N. Gioia of Queens, who leads in fund-raising and has been endorsed by several unions and the borough's Democratic organization; and Norman Siegel, a civil liberties lawyer who has run for the office twice before.
Four City Council members are competing for the nomination for comptroller. Three of them, Melinda R. Katz, John C. Liu and David I. Weprin, are from Queens, dividing support among the borough's potent Democratic organization. The fourth candidate, David Yassky, is from Brooklyn.
In Manhattan, which has more enrolled Democrats, about 780,000, than any other borough except Brooklyn, three candidates - Richard M. Aborn, Leslie Crocker Snyder and Cyrus R. Vance Jr. - are locked in a vitriolic race for district attorney. All of them at one time worked for Mr. Morgenthau as an assistant district attorney.
I am sure there are other primaries. I know I have some Republican primaries locally that I'm watching, but nothing to the level of what we see in Albany, Buffalo and New York City today.
What's going on in your area? Any big primaries we should know about?
If so, discuss it in the comments. Would love to hear the stories about other primaries from across the state. |
