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Wednesday, May 31, 2006

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SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. -- Moderate Republicans are off and running in the summer horse racing town of Saratoga Springs and other upstate New York cities, struggling to save their jobs and a dying political breed.

In a party dominated by conservatives, the last of the Northeast GOP moderates face several daunting election-year trends, including a strong top of the Democratic ticket in statewide races and growing discontent with President Bush, the Iraq war and the Republican-controlled Congress.

New York has always preferred its Republicans in the mold of the late Gov. Nelson Rockefeller - socially liberal and fiscally conservative.

"We don't send right-wingers to Congress," said Republican Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, whose retirement after 12 terms creates a competitive open seat in central New York.

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Rockefeller's tenure as governor ended in 1973, his brief, Watergate-generated time as Gerald Ford's vice president in 1977, and while the notion of "Rockefeller Republicans" lived on, the number of GOP moderates has dwindled some 30 years later.

In states such as Connecticut, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania, moderate Republicans are trying to remain more relevant than other '70s icons like disco music and white suits. Eight Republicans in those states are facing tough races.

In New York, a half dozen House incumbents are fighting off Democratic attempts to fuse them to Bush, whose approval rating stands at just 22 percent in the state. They hope that the party can get past its internal feuding to settle on candidates for senator and governor, and avoid no-shows at the polls in the fall.

"Getting out the vote is going to be critical, and we anticipate turning the spigot on 100 percent because in these congressional races that's going to be key," said Bob Smith, the Republican chairman in Onondaga County.

Dominating the election ballot are two Democratic heavyweights - New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who is seeking a second term, and Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, the favorite in the governor's race. Three-term Republican Gov. George Pataki, his eyes on the White House, decided not to seek another term.

Polls show Clinton and Spitzer with large leads over their little-known Republican rivals in a state where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by nearly 2-to-1. In addition to two Democratic senators, Democrats hold 20 House seats to nine for the GOP.

The state GOP worries that economic setbacks coupled with the statewide realities could give Republicans little incentive to vote on Nov. 7.

"I'm extremely pessimistic," said Todd Finzer, a 38-year-old employee at a Greece, N.Y., sign company in a region hard hit by the loss of manufacturing jobs. "I feel like we're walking on a razor, that's what it feels like. It's just a house of cards ready to go boom."

The father of five and self-described Christian conservative voted twice for Bush but doesn't support him now.

"Ever since I was young, I was conservative, and I'm sloooowly listing to the left," said Finzer, who said he's unsure who he'll vote for this year or if he'll even bother.

A prime target for both parties is Boehlert's open seat in New York's 24th Congressional District, which includes parts of the Finger Lakes and the cities of Utica and Rome. Among Republicans, state senator Raymond Meier leads the field, while Democrats have settled on Oneida County district attorney Michael Arcuri. The primary is Sept. 12.

Teacher Jonathan Parks of Cortland, N.Y., said he would vote for the candidate most like Boehlert.

"I thought he handled himself very well. I thought he voted not only his party but he voted his conscience," said Parks, a registered independent who usually votes Republican.

In the bedroom communities around the state capital of Albany, four-term Republican Rep. John Sweeney faces a tough challenge from lawyer Kirsten Gillibrand. The Democrat has tried to appeal to the older generation of Rockefeller Republicans.

"They don't agree with this administration at all. They don't agree with the lack of fiscal discipline. They don't agree with the right-wing agenda on social issues," Gillibrand said in her bid for the 20th Congressional District seat.

Sweeney recently enlisted the help of Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the White House hopeful who brings star power but none of the baggage of Bush. At a fundraiser not far from Saratoga's famous racetrack, McCain warned of a tough election season and said the threat to Northeast moderates could drive a geographic wedge through U.S. politics.

"I believe the Republican Party should be a national party not a regional one," McCain said.

Democrats ridiculed Sweeney about a month ago when the 50-year-old father of three showed up at a college fraternity party at 1 a.m.

Dave Hill, a Democratic-leaning voter from Ballston Spa, said he thought the criticism was a cheap shot. Of greater concern, Hill said, is how much longer U.S. troops will be in Iraq.

"I'm not totally against the war personally, but at some point I'd like to see a plan of how to get out of there," Hill said.

The wild card in the Sweeney race is the congressman's health. He was hospitalized in February with life-threatening high blood pressure and inflammation of blood vessels in his brain. He has undergone further medical tests but now declines to discuss his health.

In the western part of the state, four-term Rep. Tom Reynolds, who also heads the national House Republicans' re-election effort, faces a repeat challenge from businessman Jack Davis. The 26th Congressional District, which includes suburban Buffalo and Rochester, has lost many manufacturing jobs.

Davis favors trade protectionist policies for U.S. industry. The argument about the economy may get more intense as auto parts maker Delphi Corp. (DPHIQ), the largest employer in Niagara County, tries to work its way out of bankruptcy.

Delphi has said it intends to keep open its plants in the county and in nearby Rochester. However, the largest Delphi union is preparing for a possible nationwide strike to defend jobs and wages.

Other incumbent Republicans drawing more heat from Democrats this year are Rep. Randy Kuhl, a first-term lawmaker who won 51 percent of the vote in his Southern Tier district that includes Elmira and Corning, and Rep. Sue Kelly, whose Hudson Valley district north of New York City has changed demographically due to an influx of liberals from the city.

In his Syracuse-based district, nine-term Republican Rep. James Walsh also is under siege. GOP officials argue that voters will stick with the longtime moderate Republicans they know despite the national trend.

"I think everyone's getting a very clear message that this war is wearing thin, but I don't hear people telling me Jim Walsh is responsible for going to war," Smith said.

© 2006 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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