In the nascent 2010 race from the 13th congressional seat in New York a major player has thrown his wig into the ring.
On Feb 19 Rudy Giuliani was scheduled to make a public endorsement of Republican candidate Mike Grimm on the steps of City Hall. That appearance was delayed by the unfortunate news that Bernard Kerik was convicted in an epic corruption case.
So instead of a choreographed theater in lower Manhattan, reporter’s got a press release:
“Michael Grimm has outstanding qualifications for public office.” said Giuliani. “As a U.S. Marine he served in combat for our county and then he continued to serve our country for 11 years as a Special Agent in the FBI.”
The City Hall announcement was also notable for its location.
While the 13th district covers the vast and pastoral lands of Staten Island (and Bay Ridge) Grimm chose to make this campaign-defining announcement in lower Manhattan.
From the start, it seems that Grimm has been running his campaign with a national bent.
He launched the campaign at the Hilton Garden Inn (a new luxurious hotel overlooking the former site of the Staten Island Dump) and immediately tied McMahon to the leadership in Congress, calling him a “faithful vote for the Pelosi liberal regime.”
McMahon is actually more of a “blue dog” who voted against the Democrat’s health care bill.
Grimm is also trying to capture the Tea Party magic by name-dropped Scott Brown.
“He ran for the right reasons,” Grimm told the Advance.
I’m sure he’d love to ride the Senator’s mudflaps all the way to Washington DC. But do Staten Islanders really care what happens in Boston?
The response from the McMahon’s campaign has been tepid. The office has recently hired consultant, Evan Stavisky, who cited McMahon’s devotion to “the district’s centrist values.”
McMahon will likely cite terrorism funding and the economy as issues that actually impact Islanders but he needs to step up his game before Grimm snags an endorsement from Sarah Palin.