A decade ago the North Country was a political lockbox, the key held firmly in the fist of Republican powerhouses: <\/p>\n
State Senators Ron Stafford, Jim Wright and Ray Meier, along with Reps. John McHugh and John Sweeney, cruised to re-election every couple of years with snoozy predictability.<\/p>\n
Democracy seemed like an afterthought, a quaint ritual. Heck, elections in the Soviet Union and Iran had more drama.<\/p>\n
But these days, the region finds itself at the political crossroads (in the political crosshairs?), with our election landscape completely unsettled.<\/p>\n
The special election in the 23rd congressional district — for John McHugh’s soon-to-be vacant seat — is only the latest chapter.<\/p>\n
We regularly figure in state and national politics, adding heaps of money and drama to the mix.<\/p>\n
What changed? <\/p>\n
The first big factor was demographics. The region has attracted tens of thousands of second homeowners and retirees in recent years. Those urban exiles vote D more than they vote R.<\/p>\n
The second wave came in the form of a changing Republican Party, a movement increasingly conservative in its policies and increasingly Southern in its tone.<\/p>\n
While the North Country’s GOP remains moderate and home-grown, the national brand suffered under George W. Bush and his allies.<\/p>\n
The third wave came in the form of a single person: Hillary Clinton. In her bid for the Senate — in 2000 — she shocked the state by spending vast amounts of time in the North Country.<\/p>\n
She brought her husband here, developing relationships. She began funneling resources into the region.<\/p>\n
The next crack in the Republican armor was the retirement of Plattsburgh, Sen. Stafford in 2002. A giant had left the stage. The musical chairs had begun.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, on the other side of the North Country, the so-called River District was being created, a Dem-friendly Assembly bastion along the St. Lawrence River.<\/p>\n
For the first time, Democrats had a real shot at winning state office. <\/p>\n
That change opened the door to Darrel Aubertine, who served in the Assembly from 2003 to 2008.<\/p>\n
The aura of Republican inevitability was eroding fast.<\/p>\n
The next tectonic shift came in 2006. Hillary Clinton was re-elected with strong North Country support.<\/p>\n
More dramatic that year, however, was Kirsten Gillibrand’s toppling of John Sweeney — a close Bush ally — in the 20th congressional district.<\/p>\n
Helped by Sweeney’s scandals (and they were whopper scandals) and by a landslide Democratic year, Gillibrand won in a squeaker.<\/p>\n
That same year, Democrat Mike Arcuri soundly defeated North Country Senator Ray Meier in the House race to replace Republican Sherwood Boehlert. <\/p>\n
Not one but two Dems in the region (Arcuri’s district snakes up around Old Forge) had captured seats that had been considered Republican safe bases.<\/p>\n
What’s more, they did so against powerful GOP brand-name politicians.<\/p>\n
It’s heady stuff, more drama and change than the region had seen for a generation; but the curtain was only rising and the pace of change was accelerating.<\/p>\n
Coming on Monday: A look at 2008, the watershed year in North Country politics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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