Will Republicans Hold Rep. John McHugh’s Seat?
President Obama will nominate Rep. John McHugh (R-N.Y.) as the next secretary of the Army, which will open up another House seat in New York, three short months
Jul 31, 202030.7K Shares767.6K Views
President Obama will nominateRep. John McHugh (R-N.Y.) as the next secretary of the Army, which will open up another House seat in New York, three short months after Democrats held the seat in the 20th Congressional District vacated by now-Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.). Can Republicans hold it? Possibly, maybe even probably, but it’s not a slam-dunk.
McHugh represents the 23rd Congressional District, one of 25 New York districts that President Obama carriedover Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). Obama won NY-20 by three points, but he won NY-23 by five points, a token of the districts’ similar size and demographics — very white and very rural.
The Democrats have two things going for them. First, Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.) passed on a Senate run to lead recruitment for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and it was Israel who picked now-Rep. Scott Murphy (D-N.Y.) to run in the NY-20 race. Also, unlike Gillibrand — who cut a TV ad that probably pushed Murphy over the top — McHugh will almost certainly recuse himself from any campaigning in the district.
Paula M. Graham
Reviewer
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