Oliver Koppell, retaking a Democratic seat for Democrats.
Last week, we
noted that New York State Sen. Jeff Klein and leader of the turncoat Democrats who kept Republicans in power in Albany, had happily taken the GOP ballot line in 2012. New York allows "fusion voting," permitting candidates to appear on the ballot lines of multiple parties.
(Click on image to see larger, you can see the full ballot here.)
That little bit of sunshine has the Klein camp on its heels.
Facing a primary challenge from his left, Bronx state Sen. Jeffrey Klein, a Democrat, will not also run on the Republican Party's ballot line, as he did in 2012, Mr. Klein's campaign confirmed [...]
Mr. Klein was cross-endorsed to run on the Republican ballot line in 2012, and that has drawn criticism from the liberal website the Daily Kos, which is supporting Mr. Koppell's candidacy. Mr. Klein's affiliation with Republicans would also be a natural point of attack for Mr. Koppell's campaign.
However, it's not that simple, as it appears that Klein and his Republican benefactors are merely concerned about the
optics of the matter, and haven't ruled out joining the GOP ballot line at some point.
[S]peaking on behalf of Bronx GOP Chairman John Greaney, Mr. Polanco said that the party understood why Mr. Klein would not want its backing as he faces a Democratic primary opponent.
"[Mr. Greaney] respects that in the party nominating process, there can be an activist wing that makes up much of the electorate," Mr. Polanco said.
One option for the Bronx Republicans is to gather petitions for a "placeholder" candidate (presumably an attorney) who could then be replaced on the ballot in favor of Mr. Klein following the September Democratic primary. Asked about this possibility, Mr. Polanco said, "No one has approached the Bronx Republican Party about running on its ballot line this year" for Mr. Klein's seat.
In other words, Republicans don't have a real candidate to run, so they won't deny the possibility of offering the cross-endorsement to Klein after the September primary. Heck, they'd probably run him on their ballot line if he loses the primary, meaning we'll likely face off against Klein all the way through the November election.
We have a great endorsed candidate in Oliver Koppell. Our support for him is already generating headlines. Nearly 2,300 of you have already chipped in. Would love to see that hit 5,000. So what are you waiting for? Even $3 makes a big different.