Jane Corwin is a conservative Republican candidate in the May 24 special election in NY-26 to fill the seat vacated by Chris Lee, and should be well-positioned to win.
But, as has happened before, someone has grabbed a Tea Party line on the ballot without any Tea Party background, threatening to split the vote. As reported by Politico, Jack Davis petitioned his way onto the ballot:
Davis, who ran a failed campaign as a Democrat for the seat as a Democrat in 2006, waged a petition-gathering campaign to get on the ballot for the May 24 special election after initially seeking out the GOP nomination. Davis, who has said he is willing to spend as much as $3 million of his own money in the race, turned in more than 12,000 petitions to local election officials earlier this week, far more than the 3,500 needed to qualify.
Davis is a spoiler, does not represent the Tea Party movement or conservatives, and his campaign is being run a self-described progressive operative.
I don’t know if Davis is up to no good, or simply has a misguided ego and thinks he can buy the election.
These doubts are supported by research by Sam Foster at Left Coast Rebel (who is from the district), who dug up Davis’s campaign contributions, which are decidedly liberal:
$1,000 to Dan Maffei on June 30, 2009
$1,000 to Brian Higgins on June 25, 2009
$1,000 to Eric “tickle me” Massa June 30, 2009
$1,000 to Louise “demon pass” Slaughter July 1, 2009
$1,000 to Steven Kagen on August 4, 2009
Davis secured the backing of a group called the Western New York Tea Party Coalition, but has been rejected by the major Tea Party group in the area:
Leaders of the largest tea party organization in Western New York have called on Jack Davis to exit the 26th district special election.
Davis, who has previously run for the seat as a Democrat, was passed over for the Republican ballot line and is instead running on the Tea Party line, which he came up with to get on the ballot. State Assemblywoman Jane Corwin was selected as the Republican nominee by county GOP chairmen, and she is the favorite in the special election for the seat vacated by former Rep. Chris Lee (R).
The danger for Republicans is a split ticket that could provide a Democratic route to victory in the Republican-leaning district. TEA New York organizers Rus and Jul Thompson argued in an email to the media that the tea party is a movement — not a party — and should not be used as a third-party route to office.
Davis has had problems in the past:
Davis, who has said he will spend up to $3 million of his personal fortune on the race, also has ample political baggage. And the National Republican Congressional Committee will work to ensure it’s well-known in the coming months should it determine that he poses a substantial threat to Corwin.
The Davis campaign had previously been accused of petition fraud, and allegations surfaced in 2008 that the three-time failed Democratic candidate paid off Independence Party leaders to help secure their endorsement.
Davis is a former Democrat who ran for election as a Democrat, who recently supported liberal Democrats and who has a liberal Democrat campaign manager.
This looks, quacks and walks like another false flag Tea Party candidate.
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Comments
Didn't Michigan recently arrest a couple of Democrats that tried this the last election cycle?
I am from the Buffalo area. Jack Davis is a self-financed businessman who started I2R – a maker of electrical controls. He has a populist bent – keep jobs in the US, no free trade, etc.
He is a kook who recently proposed rounding up the unemployed to work on local farms instead of illegal immigrants.
He is a troublemaker and a kook.
No serious conservative believes he has any Tea Party cred.
"He is a kook who recently proposed rounding up the unemployed to work on local farms instead of illegal immigrants."
Here's what Jack Davis actually said:
"We have a huge unemployment problem with black youth in our cities. Put them on buses, take them out there [to the farms] and pay them a decent wage; they will work."
A leftists friend complained about it at the time and I told her I thought it was pretty much like Midnight Basketball. If the GOP had suggested putting basketballs in the hands of inner city black kids to keep them from selling crack and shooting each other she would have had a fit, but since it was a Democrat project it was fine. If a loyal leftists would have suggested that the government provide subsidized transportation to get our most unemployed demographic to where jobs are available, and force employees to pay them competitively by denying access to low wage illegal employees, she and the legacy media would have thought it was a splendid plan.
Jack Davis may be a complete jerk, but I don't think that his suggestion that it would be beneficial for the government to a) reduce the importation of low wage immigrant labor and b) expedite access for people with no jobs, no skills and no prospects to available work is evidence that he is.
The fact remains that Mr. Davis is far more liberal then he would like you to believe.
He is running on the Tea Party line because no other party would have him.
Do you think that either major party would be interested in a self-financed candidate if his views and public positions were more mainstream?
He is a publicity hound who only wants the illusion of power the position provides.
There is also serious concern that when reapportionment comes in 2012, this district will be eliminated.
Defend him if you want, but he has little to no chance. Not because he's "Tea Party", but because there are better candidates for the Republican and Democrat parties. And the Democrat has more baggage.
I thought Davis was on an independent line – not a 'Tea Party' designation. Where has this come from? He has touted himself as pro-business yet he has democrat roots (I live in the 26th district vacated by the shamed Chris Lee).
I too am aware of his quote regarding busing of inner city folk to the country for work and don't really see the seriousness of his running…he has always claimed that he is self-financed. He needed to provide 12,000 petitioned signatures to qualify.
Maybe he self-designated as a Tea Party candidate…I agree with Rus Thompson. The Tea Party is a movement, moreso, than a 'party'. The only people that end up voting for Jack Davis are likely liberals anyways so I don't see the problem.
@ Don't Tread 2012 – "Tea Party" is the name of the ballot line Jack Davis is running on. When he went third party for signatures to appear on the ballot, he chose to call that line, the "Tea Party" line.
It seems to be working.
If the ploy succeeds, it may be tried nationwide in 2012.