Although former New York Secretary of State Sandy Treadwell (R) is competing in a four-way Republican primary for the right to face Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand (D) next fall, it is no secret that most of the national GOP establishment is firmly in his corner.

Now, national Republican leaders are putting their money where their mouths are, sponsoring a Washington, D.C., fundraiser for Treadwell. The Dec. 11 event at the Capitol Hill Club will be headlined by House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio).

Treadwell already is one of the top performing fundraisers among Republican challengers this cycle, having banked $636,000 through Sept. 30. An heir to the General Electric fortune, Treadwell has put about $320,000 of his own money into the campaign and is likely to contribute more as the race progresses.
— Josh Kurtz

Conservative Party May Turn Its Back on Walsh

In a move that could impact the political fortunes of Rep. Jim Walsh (R) next year, the leaders of the Conservative Party in Monroe and Wayne counties announced last week that they would not endorse his bid for an 11th term.

If Walsh is denied the Conservative line in his rematch with former Capitol Hill staffer Dan Maffei (D) — state Conservative Party leaders and chairmen of others counties in the Congressional district also have a say — it could be significant. The small but influential third party provided Walsh with more than 11,000 votes last year; he beat Maffei by just 3,400 votes, his closest race ever.

The chairmen of the Monroe and Wayne Conservative parties characterized Walsh’s decision earlier this year to oppose the Iraq War as the straw that broke the camel’s back. Despite his moderate voting record, the Congressman always has run on the Conservative line.

“I was shocked when I began analyzing his record,” Thomas Cook, the chairman of the Monroe County Conservative Party, told the Syracuse Post-Standard. “It’s only when he did the anti-war thing that I began looking into it.”

Walsh told the paper that he made no secret of his switch on the war, adding, “I have not found unanimity in any political party about what to do in Iraq.”

It is unclear whether the Conservative Party, if it denied Walsh its ballot line, would endorse another candidate or skip the race altogether.
— Josh Kurtz