Schoharie County Democratic Party Chairman Cliff Hay isn’t worried that his party will pick the wrong candidate to run against Congressman John Faso in November.
Then again, Mr. Faso isn’t worried, either.
So far, seven candidates have announced their intentions to run in the June 26 Democratic primary. The winner will face Mr. Faso, who’s in his first term representing New York’s 19th Congressional District.
Candidates who joined the race earlier are former State Department staffer Jeff Beal, investor Brian Flynn, attorneys David Clegg and Antonio Delgado, businessman Pat Ryan, and Gareth Rhodes, a former aide to Governor Andrew Cuomo.
And just last week, Erin Collier, a former ag economist in the Obama administration, announced her candidacy.
“It is a crowded field,” Mr. Hay said, “but they’re all good candidates.
“We believe it’s a winnable race.”
“That’s what you’d expect them to say,” Mr. Faso responded in a phone interview.
Mr. Hay and the county’s Democratic Committee met the candidates two weeks ago but made no endorsement.
Although Mr. Hay has a personal favorite, he didn’t want to reveal the person so that committee members could make their own decisions.
“There are too many good candidates,” he said. “They [committee members] can carry petitions for whoever they want.”
And if his favorite doesn’t get the nomination, “I’ll support whoever wins the primary,” Mr. Hay said.
Mr. Faso, who defeated Zephyer Teachout to win the seat in 2016, hasn’t formally announced his candidacy but said he’s seeking re-election.
The Congressman is also not following the packed Democratic field.
“They have a process and will decide who they nominate,” Mr. Faso said. “I’m not really paying a lot of attention to it.
“I’m focused on my job. It’s all-encompassing.”
Mr. Hay feels Mr. Faso is tied too closely to President Donald Trump, “who’s not real popular in this part of the country,” he said.
Although Faso supporters point out that the Congressman didn’t vote for President Trump’s budget, Mr. Hay had another view.
“They didn’t need his vote to get it passed,” he said. “If they needed his vote, he’d have voted for it.”
Mr. Hay called the candidates “good people, smart people.
“Any one of those candidates is better than what we have,” he added.
With seven candidates seeking the nomination, there may be a sense that Democrats are too divided to settle on a single, winnable candidates.
But Mr. Hay didn’t agree.
“There was no animosity among them. They weren’t talking about each other.”
To be on the primary ballot, candidates must have signatures from a minimum of 1,250 registered Democrats in the 19th on their petitions.
They must file their petitions between April 12 and 14.
The 19th Congressional District includes all of Schoharie, Otsego, Delaware, Greene, Sullivan, Ulster and Columbia counties and parts of Broome, Dutchess, Montgomery and Rensselaer.