I have heard questions and read rumors about who might be running against Rep. Tom Reed in the November 2018 election. Even though it is a bit more than 18 months away, we currently have FIVE potential democratic challengers to Rep. Reed!
The Democratic County Chairs have all met four of the other five. The fifth one recently decided to get in the race and was able to meet with a few Chairs last Sunday.
At least two challengers have said that they will officially announce their candidacy in May. I assume more will follow suit. The group has a wide range of experiences and varied backgrounds. I am not mentioned names, since that will take away from their announcement; this is what I feel I can tell you about them:
- All five Challengers are male.
- Two are from Tompkins County, one from Tioga, one from Steuben, and one from Chautauqua.
- Two are practicing Attorneys; one more has a law degree but is not a presently working as an Attorney. One is a small business owner and the other is a teacher.
- One is very active in Union activities. Another is retired from the Air Force. One has been elected to his Town Board. One was a teacher before he became an attorney.
- There are two “younger” candidates, one states that he is 28, the other turned 30 earlier this year.
If the 2018 political calendar is like the 2016 calendar, they will be passing petitions beginning in early March. If more than one candidate gets enough signatures on his petitions there will be a Primary Election in late June 2018.
We are now political science students. We will have about 13 months before the primary to learn about the people who might represent us in Washington. We need to decide which of these potential challengers to Rep. Reed will have the best chance to defeat him. We need to determine who were are comfortable with representing us. They will be traveling to all 11 NY 23rd Counties, and often. Contact your County Chair (Democratic County Chair contact information) and follow their social media feeds to find out when/where they will be your area.
Consider the following questions.
- How does where the candidate lives affect electability?
- How will having a Primary Election affect this election?
- What about political philosophies? We know that Bernie drew supporters from both the left and the right–will that work here?
- Can you support a candidate who opposes some traditionally Democratic views, i.e. Pro Gun Rights and/or Pro-Life?
- What are one or two the traits a candidate must have before you support him?
- How can local grass roots resistance groups do to support our candidate?
- How can you convince a non-voter to vote?
- What concerns do you have?
We are an important part of the process. Get involved. This is what Democracy Looks Like!
New NY 23rd 
Some believed (and may still believe) that a candidate from the Western part of the district might have an advantage. If true, it wasn’t enough to elect John Plumb. One might think the same about a candidate from the Eastern or Central part of the district.
I don’t think a primary would disadvantage a Democratic candidate, but a bitter ideological primary might embarrass Tom Reed. So far he has avoided that.
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Thank you for this posting which, to my knowledge, is a first. Please keep updating as it adds to a needed sense of cohesion in the District, which heretofore has been lacking
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Would be so glad to have Reed replaced. Personally, I have been finding it difficult to get involved locally with Democrat party due to the horrible actions of DNC leadership and many states BOE fouls. Facebook memories are bringing it all back to the forefront.
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It will be very difficult. As we know the district was gerrymandered Republican. Most folks are just conditioned to pull the R lever no matter the candidate.
I am a very conservative democrat. The only reason I am not Republican is their stinginess in social programs and their support for the RTL folks.
I want a Democrat that will stand staunchly against 2nd amendment foes.
I want a Democrat that will attack the problem of undocumented aliens from the head instead of the tail. Go after the people that employ them, make use of E-Verify the law of the land,and enact crippling penalties against those that employ the undocumented.
I want a Democrat that will fight for single payer health.
I want democrats to fight not just for the poor,but for those that are not quite middle class but not poor.
I hate to say it,but the mere mention of Tompkins County is poison to most of the district,and whether fair or not any candidate hailing from Ithaca is probably unelectable in the 23rd.
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I sure would like to see the back of Tom Reed. I’ve been calling him all week about this healthcare bill, and his interns insist he’s “undecided”. I have no doubt how he’ll vote, though; he’ll vote to take away our health insurance.
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https://www.facebook.com/Steuben-County-Democratic-Party-160975751055886/ is the correct facebook page for Steuben county democratic party
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Thanks. I’ll fix it.
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This is a good read
https://shutupnsing.wordpress.com/2017/11/26/the-sunday-morning-tune-up-the-way-we-are/
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I would like to get all of the Democrat candidates and Tom Reed’s thoughts on these two major news stories that the main street media continues to ignore;
https://www.politico.com/interactives/2017/obama-hezbollah-drug-trafficking-investigation/
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/449983/debbie-wasserman-schultz-pakistani-computer-guys-more-bank-fraud
https://nypost.com/2017/08/19/it-staffers-may-have-compromised-sensitive-data-to-foreign-intelligence/
dailycaller.com/2017/10/02/wasserman-schultz-it-aide-bragged-he-paid-pakistani-police-for-protection/
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I have been to two of toms town hall meetings, before they got ugly!my opinions of him remain the same. He’s a politician’s politician. I asked him about enforcing anti trust laws on big pharmaceutical cos.and insurance companies,and he blames the democrats. He says he will update me on what he plans on doing about it, but never once has. Even after several calls to his office. I gave suggestions on how to reduce the nation’s deficit, and he laughed and said that it would be impossible. Yes, Tom Reed may listen, but he’s a big do nothing!!! The only thing he cares about is the republican agenda, and getting re elected, period….
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