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It's not exactly a big secret that among the Senators who need to be replaced in the interest of what amounts to political hygiene, Brooklyn Republicrat Carl Kruger is at or near the top of the list. After years of colluding with the then-republican Senate majority, he may have finally crossed the last bright line in his 2009 vote against marriage equality.
Going up against Kruger in the Democratic primary in September is Russian-American lawyer and judge Igor Oberman, who's been drawn into the race by dissatisfaction with the Albany status quo.
"I'm not intimidated, although I'm a first time candidate," Oberman said. "When my candidacy really rolls out, the defining moment will not come from Carl Kruger's big bankroll, but on September 14 when the people make a choice."
As of his January filing, Kruger has $2.2m in his campaign account, an amount sure to be swelled by any number of backscratchers.
What might make this challenge different from the usual tilting at windmills that is any New York primary campaign against incumbents is the confluence of two factors: one, the 27th Senate district is the largest Russian community in the United States, and two, the sheer fury of the LGBT community at Kruger over his abject betrayal on equality.
And given that gay dollars made the difference in getting the Democrats their majority, this is not a threat that Kruger should take lightly. However, it appears that that is precisely what he's doing.
"He wants to run for something and get it out of his system," Kruger said. "But I've never met him and don't know his view of the world."
"I don't know of one organization, one issue, one scintilla of community involvement he can lay claim to," Kruger said. "I'm Carl Kruger. I'm the state senator."
Pride goeth before a fall and all that.
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