Out of the lockbox, Part 3: Eliot & Barack

The last couple of days, I’ve been tracing the history of the North Country’s sudden transition from a GOP political stronghold to an up-for-grabs battleground.

The last three years, Democrats have won more battles than they’ve lost, capturing turf that was once as red as any political terrain in the deep South.

Normally, upheavals like this occur slowly, in large part because politicians tend to cling to their jobs.

Well entrenched incumbents act as backstops, slowing political and demographic trends.

But change in the North Country has been accelerated by two unlikely events: The political demise of former Governor Eliot Spitzer and the election of President Barack Obama.

The tale begins with Mr. Obama’s election. In the weeks after stepping into the Oval Office, he tapped NY Sen. Hillary Clinton to be his Secretary of State.

Meanwhile, Gov. Spitzer’s withdrawal from public life had elevated David Paterson to the executive office in Albany.

When it came time for him to pick Sen. Clinton’s replacement, Mr. Paterson (after some clumsy and awkward maneuvering) settled on an unlikely name: Kirsten Gillibrand from the 20th House district.

Sen. Gillibrand was one of the youngest members of New York’s congressional delegation and her choice set off political firestorms that are only now subsiding.

(One of her chief political opponent’s, NY Democrat Rep. Carolyn Maloney announced recently that she wouldn’t challenge Sen. Gillibrand in next year’s primary.)

But it also triggered a hotly contested race to fill Gillibrand’s seat.

It was a huge opportunity for Republicans to reclaim some lost ground and some lost mojo. It was also a test for the newly vibrant Democratic machine in the region.

Republican national chairman Michael Steele threw his full weight behind veteran Republican politician Jim Tedisco, who served as minority leader in the state Assembly.

Tedisco was a seasoned campaigner, good on the stump, with plenty of money.

But Tedisco found himself squared off against a political newcomer: Glens Falls venture capitalist Scott Murphy, who proved to be a disciplined speech-maker with enough money to go head-to-head with Tedisco.

Republicans also found themselves on the wrong side of a wave of public support for President Obama’s stimulus package.

(Tedisco’s unclear message on the stimulus allowed him to be painted, fairly or not, as just another waffling Albany politician.)

Once again, the GOP fell short in a district where they enjoyed a huge voter-enrollment advantage. Murphy went to Washington and Tedisco went home humbled.

(He was demoted from his leadership position.)

But President Obama wasn’t through stirring the pot of North Country politics. In the spring of 2009 he named Rep. John McHugh, the veteran Republican, to serve as Army Secretary.

A district that McHugh has held without serious challenge for more than a decade was suddenly thrown into play.

The race for the 23rd is only just now getting underway.

But thanks to the musical chairs that began in Washington DC, the GOP finds itself once again on the defensive in a part of the country that was once politically unassailable.

And the North Country finds itself at the crossroads of national politics, with both parties funneling money and advisors into the region.

Still to come in the “out of the lockbox series,” we’ll look at the recruiting efforts of both parties in the North Country and we’ll look at the influence of St. Lawrence County’s June O’Neill, chair of the state Democratic Party.