Matt Doheny has roughly seven weeks to pivot from a tough and expensive primary to a tough and expensive general election race against incumbent Democrat Bill Owens.\u00a0 Here’s how he might do it.<\/p>\n
1.\u00a0 Convince Doug Hoffman to concede and garner his endorsement in the general election.\u00a0 If Hoffman continues to run as a Conservative candidate over the next 7 weeks, it’s probably game-over.<\/p>\n
2.\u00a0 Meet with Conservative and tea party leaders and get them on board, too.\u00a0 UNYTEA’s Mark Barie has telegraphed some openness to reunifying the conservative movement.<\/p>\n
3.\u00a0 Convince national Republicans to buy in.\u00a0 So far, according to Congressional Quarterly, the NRCC still hasn’t bought ad time in the 23d district.\u00a0 Doheny will need that support down the stretch.<\/p>\n
4.\u00a0 Debate, debate, debate.\u00a0 Doheny needs to appear on stage with Democrat Bill Owens and show that he has a command of the issues and the presence to be the next congressman.<\/p>\n
5.\u00a0 Figure out where the missing Republican voters went and get them mobilized.\u00a0 Despite his apparent win, he only garnered about 25% of the vote that Doug Hoffman won last year — and Hoffman lost.<\/p>\n
6.\u00a0 Go big with TV and radio advertising.\u00a0 This will be tough because Bill Owens holds a significant cash advantage, but Doheny has to find a way to compete in the air.<\/p>\n
7.\u00a0 Appeal to independents.\u00a0 It’s a fine line, but if Doheny shifts too far to the right to try to lock in the tea party crowd, he’ll alienate the North Country’s moderate Republicans and independents.<\/p>\n
8.\u00a0 Find a way to appeal to Republicans on the eastern side of the district.\u00a0 Bill Owens is seen as a friendly face by many within the GOP in Clinton, Essex and Franklin counties.\u00a0 If those folks defect, because of geographic loyalty, it’ll be tough for Doheny.<\/p>\n
9.\u00a0 Build a ground team comparable to Owens’ union support to get out the vote.\u00a0 This won’t be easy, but county GOP leaders showed more spunk in this primary race — maybe they can build a hefty door-to-door effort.<\/p>\n
10.\u00a0 It’s worth saying twice:\u00a0 solve the Hoffman problem.\u00a0 Doug Hoffman fought his way very close to parity again, without support of a major party.\u00a0 If he lingers on the scene, Doheny’s path to victory will be rocky indeed.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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