NY-22-- A Republican, A Teabagger And A Blue Dog Walk Into A Race. What Happens? Who Cares?

The huge upstate New York district (NY-22) that stretches from Lake Ontario through Rome and Utica and all the way down past Cortland and Binghampton to the Pennsylvania border along the Southern Tier ws virtually tied in the 2008 and 2012 presidential races, Obama (twice) and McCain and Romney each getting 49% of the vote. The congressman from the district, Republican Richard Hanna, is retiring on a note that includes endorsing Hillary and refusing to endorse the Tea Party Republican running for his seat, Assemblywoman Claudia Tenney. Hanna has said Tenney is way too extreme for the district and he had endorsed Steve Wells in the June 28 primary. In a 3-way contest Tenney bested Wells 8,876 (41.5%) to 7,214 (33.7%). In 2012, Kirsten Gillibrand was reelected to the Senate with every one of the 8 counties that make up NY-22-- and by a landslide, each of the two big population centers, Oneida and Broome counties giving her well over 60% of the vote.

It''s a swing district that been leaning a little red, although Hillary should do well there. So what about the House seat. The Democrats recruited the daughter of a multimillionaire, Kim Myers, a garden variety conservative Democrat backed by EMILY's List. She's first term member of the Broome County legislature but is best known because he father founded the Dick's Sporting Goods chain. She went to the Blue Dogs and asked for an endorsement, which she got-- so... what we're looking at is a clueless and worthless candidate clearly belonging to the Republican wing of the Democratic Party.

A new poll shows a dead heat between the teabagger and the Blue Dog, 35% each (according to the Blue Dog polling firm, Anzalone Liszt Grove Research. The third party candidate, Republican multimillionaire Martin Babinec is drawing 21% but when undecided voters and those supporting Babinec were asked to choose between the two major-party candidates, Tenney and Myers were still tied, at 41% each. Babinec is running on the Upstate Jobs Party, which he created himself and he has already self-funded to the tune of a million dollars and has spent $784,283. Myers had raised $689,220 as of June 30 and had self-funded to the tune of $245,400. Tenney had raised $254,541 by June 30 but had spent all of it to win the primary. The Oneida Indian Tribe spent $601,695 against her during the primary and a Chamber of Commerce-type group (the Defending Main Street SuperPAC) backing Wells spent another $215,000 against her.

Although Babinec had given contributions to both parties-- and to Hillary more than to anyone else-- he says if he wins, he'll caucus with the GOP. Roll Call calls him the "wild card in the race."

Anzalone Liszt claims that the reason Myers has a chance to win is because Tenney hasn't been able to consolidate GOP voters. Only 57% of Republicans support her at this point, while 75% of the district's Democrats say they'll vote for the Blue Dog. Both parties are expected to spend millions of dollars on this stupid race between three awful candidates. What a tragedy that the DCCC will waste a fortune on Myers when they should be spending on any of the progressives who won their primaries currently being shunned by Pelosi and his ridiculous operation-- the candidates you can support by clicking on the thermometer below (no Blue Dogs or New Dems included, of course):