New voters pose issues for Gibson, Hanna

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April 26, 2012

New voters pose issues for Gibson, Hanna

Anonymous Daily Star The Daily Star Thu Apr 26, 2012, 03:25 AM EDT

"All politics," said the late, great Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill, is local."

Candidates for federal office, both in our area and nationally, would be wise to remember O'Neill's wisdom.

Because of the recent New York state redistricting, it's hard to tell the players without a scorecard when it comes to who will be serving our area in the House of Representatives come January.

The old 20th Congressional District, represented by Chris Gibson, will be no more. In November, Gibson will be running in the 19th District, which includes all of Otsego, Delaware and Schoharie counties.

Richard Hanna, whose 24th District now has many of Gibson's new constituents, will be on the November ballot in the newly constructed 22nd District, which includes voters in Chenango County.

Both gentlemen are first-term Republicans, and both have been targeted for defeat by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

The DCCC is the official campaign organization dedicated to electing more Democrats to the House. The organization's "Red to Blue" program puts a spotlight on Republicans it believes might be vulnerable and provides money, people and advice to their challengers.

Gibson, whose new district is expected to tilt more Democratic than his previous one, has long been in the DCCC's sights. Just this week, Hanna has been added to the DCCC's "Emerging Races" list. According to its website, "Emerging Races highlights candidates and districts that are making themselves competitive by running smart campaigns (that) are becoming increasingly competitive."

That may well be wishful thinking by the Democrats, particularly in hoping to unseat the wealthy Hanna, who after facing a relatively unknown Tea Party-backed opponent in a Republican primary, is likely to be running against Dan Lamb, a longtime senior aide to retiring Congressman Maurice Hinchey.

Gibson may be in for a more difficult time. He is likely to face Julian Schreibman, whose impressive resume includes a law degree from Yale, and helping to prosecute and convict four al-Qaida members who bombed U.S. embassies.

Especially with the DCCC's attention to the races, Gibson and Hanna have much to do to introduce themselves to their new constituents. With Congress' overall approval rating at only 18 percent _ and some polls have it as low as 11 percent _ both representatives will be swimming against a "throw the bums out" tide.

There are fewer than 200 days until the election. President Barack Obama and GOP candidate Mitt Romney will be using them to re-introduce themselves to the American public through advertising and personal appearances.

Messrs. Hanna and Gibson would be well-advised to do the same with folks in their new districts. There is no doubt that all their politics is local.