NY-23 congressional hopeful, Matt Doheny, may be making making an early and aggressive play for moderate support in his bid for the GOP nomination this year. And it might make good sense politically now that Will Barclay has unexpectedly entered his name into the contest. And if Doug Hoffman enters the race for the Republican nomination, as many are predicting, then Doheny will have to turn somewhere for support.
Doheny may have already built some trust among moderates in the district with his active support of Dede Scozzafava in 2009. Doheny supported Scozzafava's run financially and was very public in his support of Scozzafava once she won the support of the county chairs charged with nominating the GOP candidate. The Watertown Daily Times reported that Doheny "praised her as 'terrific' and said he would work towards her election. 'I'm giong to do everything I can for her, and more.'" It would be interesting to see if Scozzafava decided to support a Republican candidate in 2010 or whether she will maintain her support for Congressman Bill Owens, who she endorsed just days prior to the special election last fall.
But Doheny's reach to the left of the party goes beyond just public support for Scozzafava. Mayor Graham leaked a rumor that Doheny's team has reached out to former congresswoman-turned-lobbyist, Susan Molinari. Graham wrote that the Doheny camp is expecting Molinari to campaign for Doheny this summer in the North Country. Some might know Molinari as a close advisor to Rudy Giuliani who recently revealed her interest in a US Senate bid against the victor of the Gilibrand/Ford match-up. And that's not a bad endorsement if you are trying to shore up moderate support either.
Just days ago Molinari invoked the leadership of Senator Charles Schumer in news report out of Long Island. Molinari makes no apologies for her pro-choice positions and was also closely associated with the now defunct Republican Unity Coalition, a gay-straight alliance that believes the GOP can only expand its influence by reaching out to gays and lesbians who share basic Republican positions and goals. And when she was president of Ketchum Public Affairs and it's lobbying firm, The Washington Group, her firm received over $300,000 to lobby on behalf of Freddie Mac (a mortgage company that now receives billions in US taxpayer bailouts).
Molinari knows the establishment players, has money, influence and communications connections in both New York City and DC. So if Doheny is looking to spread a moderate message to the North Country he may have found the person to help him do it. One insider explained the strategy this way: it sounds like Doheny is lining up his ducks to build establishment and moderate support to hold everything together and force Barclay to reconsider NY-23. Doheny's team knows that if Hoffman secures the conservative base and if Doheny can shore up the moderates early it leaves Barclay with a very small constituency to go after, making it a two person race that favors Doheny.
