Libertarian’s Exit Boosts Tedisco’s Chances in NY20
Another last minute twist has once again changed the landscape of this Tuesday’s race for the vacant New York 20th district congressional race. Following a series of challenges to ballot signatures, Libertarian Party candidate Eric Sundwall has dropped out of the race.
“We are dismayed that the people of the 20th Congressional District will not have the opportunity to vote for Eric Sundwall due to a technicality that hinges on what town or city the voter or witness lives in as opposed to their community of residence,” said Richard Cooper, Sundwall’s campaign manager.
The state Board of Elections ruled unanimously Sundwall should be removed from the ballot because 3,786 of the nominating signatures he turned in were invalid. Sundwall collected 6,730 signatures. He needed 3,500 to put his name on the ballot; the ruling left him 556 short.
While Sunderwall was never in serious contention to win, he polled anywhere from 1 to 4 percent in recent samples. It was generally felt that he was pulling most of his numbers away from Republican Jim Tedisco. Given the razor-thin margins in the last Siena polls, this could come as Manna from Heaven for Tedisco, who saw his lead cut from 12% in February to a dead heat this week.
The Republican’s staff was quick to assert that Tedisco had nothing to do with the challenges and he had no intention of driving Sunderwall out of the race.
Two Saratoga County residents — Laurie Kelly Sickles of Ballston Spa, a Republican, and Donald Neddo of Waterford, a Conservative — objected to more than 6,000 of Sundwall’s signatures. A candidate in the race or anyone registered to vote in the district may challenge a candidate’s nominating petitions.
Despite the objectors’ party affiliations, a spokesman for the Tedisco campaign said Republican candidate Jim Tedisco had nothing to do with trying to have Sundwall thrown off the ballot.
“Jim welcomed Mr. Sundwall to the race. His removal is a question for the board,” spokesman Adam Kramer said.
The election is four days. With the entire nation watching, this one seems to be coming down to the wire and Sunderwall’s voters may be set to have a disproportional effect on the race.
4 Responses to “Libertarian’s Exit Boosts Tedisco’s Chances in NY20”
[...] Exit Boosts Tedisco’s Chances in NY-20 [...]
You might to mention the brand new Siena University poll that shows Scott Murphy taking a lead by 4 points for the first time. Sundwall is largely irrelevant anyway; his voters would likely stay home instead of vote for Tedisco (or Murphy).
http://politicalwire.com/archives/2009/03/27/mu…
The reason? Tedisco's campaign has been ruthlessly negative and voters have warmed up to Murphy.
The Libertarian Party candidate did not drop out.
The Libertarian candidate colleced over 6,700 signatures. He only needed 3,500. He was removed from the ballot as a result of challenges from members of the Republican and Conservative Parties–the parties that have endorsed Tedisco. They objected to more than 6,000 of the signatures he collected. One of the election commissioners complained about the way the law was written.
The news story you linked reports this clearly!
And the real story may be this:
There are two main things that bother me with this news story, and I felt I needed to respond.
1. The claim that Sundwall being blocked from the ballot will boost Tedisco's chances. Sundwall has endorsed Scott Murphy and encouraged his supporters to vote for him – in spite of some ideological differences, Mr. Murphy's character and business success cannot be denied. See here:http://www.sundwall4congress.org/
2. The “never in serious contention to win”. It's a fact that the US has a two party system; it is difficult for an outsider to let his voice be heard, and even when he/she jumps through all the political hoops meant to hinder those not connected to the party machinery, puppets are brought forward to ensure that court shenanigans derail an independent campaign. If you believe that Sickles and Neddo woke up one day and found themselves concerned with some signatures for a candidate without any chance to win, I'd like to congratulate you for being born yesterday.
This is just another example of the entrenched and corrupt political system in our country. And so long as voters continue to think they need to vote for the status quo, and accept behind-the-scenes dealings and backstabbing, it will never get better. It doesn't have to be that way.
http://www.campaignforliberty.com/