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Altschuler Eyeing Rematch With Tim Bishop

Updated: 5:57 p.m.

Having lost one of the closest races in the nation last November, Randy Altschuler (R) appears to be eyeing another run against Rep. Tim Bishop (D) in New York’s 1st district.

Roll Call has learned that Altschuler will be in Washington, D.C., for a series of meetings on March 30.

“Coming to D.C. seems to be a step toward a rematch,” said a Republican campaign aide familiar with Altschuler’s plans.

The New York businessman ultimately lost to Bishop by fewer than 600 votes in a race that became the last outstanding contest in the nation; it was decided in early December. Altschuler was ahead at times during the ballot review process and even attended freshman orientation.

Republicans believe a rematch will be competitive in the Long Island district, where President Barack Obama captured 52 percent of the vote in 2008 and President George W. Bush eked out a victory in 2004. It remains to be seen how much the district will change politically in redistricting, but it is expected to remain swing territory. And at the very least, the GOP would love to force Democrats to spend money defending an incumbent whose district is covered by the cost-prohibitive New York media market.

Bishop spokesman Jon Schneider responded to the news that Altschuler was contemplating a rematch by repeating one of Democrats’ strongest attacks of the 2010 campaign: hitting the Republican for shipping jobs overseas.

“Randy Outsourcer couldn’t win in a once-in-a-generation year for Republicans,” Schneider said. “While Tim Bishop will be able to run in 2012 on his record of fighting House Republican efforts to cut 1,000 jobs at Brookhaven National Lab, Randy will remain a fatally flawed outsourcer with a track record of getting rich by shipping American jobs overseas.”

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