War Has Been Launched In Three Key Battleground Congressional Districts

With the United States Congress being as greatly polarized as it is today, it’s becoming more and more important to have a majority in both the House and Senate. Without control of both houses, gridlock usually occurs and that makes it more difficult to pass certain legislation and policies that a specific party is looking to implement. The Republicans certainly have control of the House of Representatives, and the Democrats currently have a narrow majority in the U.S. Senate. For these reasons, the 2014 midterm elections are incredibly important. One way the Republicans are looking to increase their majority advantage in the House of Representatives is by winning a handful of tossup races in New York.

 

Heading into the 2014 midterm elections in New York, the Democrats will be incumbents in 21 out of the 27 districts. The Republicans are aiming their campaign efforts and money at picking off the three most vulnerable Democratic incumbents out of the 27 districts. On the flip side, the Democrats are also focusing their efforts at winning those tightly contested races so they can remain status quo. The reason that the parties are focusing their campaign efforts on only three or four races out of the 27 districts is because the Democrats are predicted to easily win 17 of the districts (3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,12,13,14,15,16,17,20,25,26) and the Republicans are predicted to easily win 5 districts (2,19,21,22,23,27).

 

The four battleground districts are the 1^st, 11^th, 18^th, and 24^st districts. The 1^st district is a race between incumbent Tim Bishop (D) who has been in office for 10 years but has seen a decline in support and in the 2012 election only won by a slim 4.6% margin. His opponent Lee Zedlin (R) has been gaining some support recently in the Republican community after endorsements by Senator John McCain and Donald Trump. This race is going to be determined by a few key issues. The Bishop campaign is stressing the need to improve the environment and fighting for seniors and opposing the potential attack of Medicare by the Republican budget. The issues that the Zedlin campaign is focusing on are shrinking the size of government, and giving families a better hope for their children by mending the job market and improving the education system.

 

Another battleground district is a rematch between incumbent Sean Maloney (D) and former 18^th district representative Nan Hayworth (R). Maloney just beat out Hayworth by a 3.7% margin in the 2012 election, and as Hayworth found out in 2012, representatives up for reelection after their first term are more vulnerable during their sophomore election. The issues that the Maloney campaign are focusing on are Social Security and Medicare, and he is highlighting his ability and knowledge to create jobs, as he was President Clinton’s top advisor during one of the longest economic expansion in U.S. history. The Hayworth campaign is focusing on issues like fixing the tax code in New York and replacing Obamacare with a more sensible healthcare plan.

The last battleground district in New York is the tightly contested 24^th district between incumbent Dan Maffei (D) and John Kato (R). In a recent Siena College Poll, Maffei holds an eight-point lead over Kato, largely because he has a bigger lead with Democrats than Kato does with Republicans. But the catch is, is that Kato has just started his campaign and has only introduced himself to only a third of the district. The important issues in this district are about job creation, healthcare, and Social Security and Medicare.