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This belongs to you. Take it back...
Jim Wright 
Mon Apr 28, 2008 at 10:24:09 AM EDT
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(Note: I read this on CapCon first on Friday, but the commenters on this seemed to doubt the validity of the blog in mention. Therefore, I did not want to write about it until some independent verification could be made.)
What an odd situation this would be. One senator retires from his post to take a much more lucrative post as a lobbyist and then decides that he might be interested in challenging the man who won the special election for that seat two months ago.
Liz reported this on Friday after a blog reported that former Sen. Jim Wright might be interested in challenging current Sen. Darrel Aubertine in the 48th Senate District.
For the record: It's true that the veteran Republican lawmaker whose retirement sparked an epic battle and cost the majority yet another seat in their ever-shrinking conference is in fact considering a run this fall to get his old job back.
"I can confirm that yes I am having discussions with people," Wright said. "Circumstances have changed over the last five months. We lost the special election, which was unanticipated. Everyone viewed that as a safe seat."
"..There have been a number of decisions made by the incumbant that have resulted in my phone ringing. I'm evaluating the situation, and it's very flattering to be asked," he continued.
This would be a very intriguing matchup in November. I think Aubertine is still the favorite to win, but he will be facing a tough challenger in a tough district. Wright almost has some sort of incumbent advantage because it wasn't that long ago that he was representing this district. If we have one candidate that can win, it is Aubertine. He proved in November that even with the enrollment advantage the Republicans have, a Democrat can win that seat with true bipartisan support.
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Wed Dec 12, 2007 at 08:40:31 AM EST
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There was much speculation yesterday about when state Senator Jim Wright would actually be leaving and what that meant for whether there would be a special election or if Spitzer would leave the seat open until the general election next November. One piece of that puzzle seems to be settled. Wright tells the Watertown Daily Times (sub required) that he is stepping down effective December 31. What exactly this means for the chances of a special election, most likely one on Feb 5th, I'm not sure. The temptation to call one is obvious. As Steve notes, special elections tend to turn much more on GOTV and registration numbers aren't as huge a factor, certainly something to factor in what is a pretty solid Republican district. Then again, a Feb 5th special election would be piggybacking a presidential primary election with two New Yorkers as the headliners. There's certainly plenty to consider here.
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Tue Dec 11, 2007 at 09:37:39 AM EST
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Looks that way. Liz is reporting that Republican state Senator Jim Wright (SD-48) is leaving the Senate to join the lobbying firm of Mercury Public Affairs.
Multiple Republican sources say Sen. Jim Wright, a veteran GOP lawmaker who was first elected in 1992, is poised to announce his departure from the Senate, touching off what is likely to be a mega-battle for his seat.
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Wright's upstate district, which includes all of Jefferson and Oswego counties and part of St Lawrence County, is GOP country, with 78,454 enrolled Republicans, 46,824 Democrats and 34,665 "blanks."
Speculation is already swirling about who will run for Wright's seat. Names mentioned include Republican Assembly members Will Barclay and Dede Scozzafava. Barclay, whose father once held Wright's seat, is the favorite.
On the Democratic side, the likely candidate is Assemblyman Darrel Aubertine.
The governor is not required by law to call a special election to fill this vacancy. He could just let it stand until the next general election.
However, given the fact that the presidential primary is coming up (Feb. 5), which could insure banner turnout - particularly if Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani are on the ballot - and the Democrats would need every possible vote in this race, it's hard to see why Spitzer would pass up this opportunity.
I'm not as sure as Liz about a "mega battle" for the seat. It's definitely a GOP district and the DSCC's resources are hardly unlimited. Then again, open seats are a rarity. It would certainly be an opportunity that doesn't come around all that often. At a minimum, it could be a chance to make Bruno spend more than he would like to defend the seat when I'm sure they normally wouldn't have had to spend a penny (of their campaign cash - they'll still 'frank' the hell out of it courtesy of you and me.)
Anybody in the district have anything to say about this?
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Sun Jan 07, 2007 at 13:04:30 PM EST
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Sometimes, politicians release statements that overwhelm any sense of credibility and takes the art of deception into new levels of hypocrisy. We have, over the few years, been treated to some real gems. The most recent that comes to mind on the national level is the statements made by some Republican Congressmen warning Nancy Pelosi that excluding their caucus from the lawmaking process would be counter to good government practices and our constitution. OMG. And they did this with a straight face.
Well, here we go again. This time, it's coming from Albany.
You might be thinking that I'm referring to Joe "The Glitch" Bruno's recent call to include the Member Items Appropriations as line items in the state budget and taking credit for introducing such a ground breaking concept. He failed to mention that his suggestion came only after he and Shelly Silver were sued by the Times Union to release the information…and they fought it all the way to the courts where they lost!
That's a good guess, but that's not it.
More after the flip.
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