Tuesday is primary day in the Empire State, and one of the big GOP battles is taking place out in Eastern Long Island over the right to take on four-term liberal incumbent Democrat Rep. Tim Bishop. Here’s the line-up:
Randy Altschuler is dropping buckets of cash into the race. And he’s got it to spend: Altschuler co-founded (and eventually sold for mega-millions) OfficeTiger, a company that pioneered outsourcing jobs to India (or, as Altschuler describes it on his website, “upgrading business support services and bolstering the job market”). It should come as no surprise he’s taking a Great Recession beating for sending U.S. work abroad:
Altschuler says he’s conservative and pro-life, and has been endorsed by the local NY Conservative Party. But the recent New Jersey transplant was a member of the Green Party for much of the decade, and strongly considered a primary challenge to conservative New Jersey incumbent Rep. Scott Garrett (100 percent ACU rating) explicitly because of Altschuler’s pro-choice stand — this according to Virginia Littell, former Garden State GOP chairman. My spider sense is tingling with this guy.
Next up is Richard Nixon’s grandson, businessman Chris Cox, also son of NY GOP chairman Ed Cox. He too is a self-proclaimed pro-life conservative, and touts beaucoup endorsements. He’s not producing much heat, but he’s taking some, such as from this Altschuler mailer (h/t Celeste Katz at NY Daily News), for Cox’s major 2009 campaign contributions to the infamous Dede Scozzafava and Florida governor Charlie Crist. Helping bankroll Marco Rubio’s foe is not something that goes over well.
And last but not least is the man who’s campaign got a huge lift this week from Rush Limbaugh, conservative George Demos. I like very much what I see — on the issues he is all there, and his resume (former SEC attorney) is impressive. Of major importance, Demos just got a full-throated, national endorsement from Limbaugh, who cited Demos’s status as “a literal Rush Baby.” Word is the race is neck-and-neck-and-neck down the home-stretch, but don’t be surprised if Rush’s praise pushes him over the finish line first on the 14th. Enjoy: