Long to face Gillibrand in Senate race

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June 27, 2012

Long to face Gillibrand in Senate race

By JOE MAHONEY Staff Writer The Daily Star Wed Jun 27, 2012, 03:30 AM EDT

With most votes counted in the primaries for federal offices, Manhattan lawyer Wendy Long was the projected winner in the three-way race to be the GOP candidate to face Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in November, while Democratic congressional hopeful Julian Schreibman defeated rival Joel Tyner.

Long is expected to be cast in the role of underdog when she runs against Gillibrand, who, according to statewide polls, is far better known to voters.

In New York, Democrats also hold a 2 to 1 voter enrollment advantage over the Republican Party.

In the race for the newly drawn 19th Congressional District, where the winner will face Rep. Chris Gibson, R-Kinderhook, in the general election, Schreibman said in his victory speech, "Congressman Gibson may be a nice guy, but his votes are out of step with the values of his communities."

With machine votes from all counties in the district with the exception of Greene counted, Schreibman was ahead of Tyner, 5,444 to 3,931, or approximately 58 percent to 42 percent.

However, in Otsego County, with all polling stations counted, Tyner topped Schreibman, 569 to 333.

Tyner also carried his home county, Dutchess, taking a 1,061 to 693 lead over Schreibman. However, Schreibman more than made up for that in his native Ulster County, besting Tyner 2,232 to 446 there.

In the Senate race, with 67 percent of the statewide GOP vote counted, Long, also endorsed by the state Conservative Party, had collected 55 percent of the vote, while Rep. Bob Turner's supporters accounted for 35 percent of the vote.

Bringing up the rear was Nassau County Comptroller George Maragos, with 10 percent. The latter candidate had the backing of Delaware County GOP Chairwoman Maria Kelso.

Long was supported by Otsego County GOP Chairwoman Sheila Ross.

Ross said getting official final results would be complicated because Turner, apparently expecting a close election, secured a court order directing that voting machines be impounded.

In the new 22nd Congressional District, freshman Rep. Richard Hanna, R-Barneveld, easily turned back challenger Michael Kicinski of Earlville. Kicinski was backed by the conservative Tea Party.

Hanna, a maverick Republican who supports abortion rights, handily defeated Kicinski in eight counties.

Schreibman, of Stone Ridge, Ulster County, had the support of national as many local Democratic leaders.

Tyner, a member of the Ulster County Legislature, had touted his involvement on behalf of several environmental causes, including his opposition to shale gas drilling.

Tyner, 48, tried to convince voters that his opposition to hydraulic fracturing was more genuine and more forceful than the concerns Schreibman expressed toward the controversial method of extracting natural gas,

Before the polls closed Tuesday night, Schreibman told The Daily Star his strategy in running the primary was simple: identify the Democrats most likely to vote in the new district and "communicate with them on how absolutely important it is to beat Chris Gibson."

"There is no question that he is trying to pretend to be something that he is not," Schreibman said of Gibson's efforts to remind voters that among GOP congressman he holds one of the most moderate voting records.

He said Gibson has been "following the Tea Party agenda," a criticism that Gibson has denied.

Going forward towards the November election, Schreibman, a former federal prosecutor and lawyer for the Central Intelligence Agency, said, The issues are: How do we bring jobs to this area and how do we have smart growth while still preserving the natural resources."

Asked specifically about whether he will continue to focus on gas drilling, Schreibman said, "It will be part of the larger issue of jobs and the economy."

Discussing his approach to the primary, Schreibman said he opted to focus on discussing his own priorities rather than spend any time attacking Tyner, who has been elected five times to his seat on the Dutchess Legislature.

.Sustainable Otsego moderator Adrian Kuzminski said Tyner, despite having an under-funded campaign, developed a loyal following in Otsego County because of his dedication to speaking out against the environmental risks from gas drilling.

Kuzminski maintained that many Democrats were uncertain as to whether Schreibman's stated opposition to fracking was sincere and that he struck some voters as a "business as usual candidate."

"Tyner was courageous," he said. "He ran a campaign on the issues, a campaign that didn't take big money. He stuck his neck out for what he believed in and he did an honorable job."

Schreibman's campaign generated several glossy mail pieces to voters, while Tyner's team produced a robo-call call with the voice of folk singing legend Pete Seeger urging voters to vote for Tyner.

Before the 9 p.m. shutdown of polling stations, Kuzminiski said he realized that if Tyner pulled off a victory it would be "astonishing."