ALBANY - During the first week of August, John Spencer, the candidate state Republican and Conservative party leaders hope can bring down Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, had one public event and it was in the city where he once was mayor.
Spencer's opponent in the Sept. 12 GOP primary, Kathleen Troia “KT” McFarland was a whirlwind by comparison, logging six public events including stops at the Saratoga thoroughbred track, a corn festival near Buffalo and a speech on Iraq war policy in New York City.
She also did radio and television interviews, including an appearance on Chris Matthews' “Hardball” show on MSNBC.
Spencer's absence from the campaign trail, the place for the retail politics of handshaking and baby-kissing, has not gone unnoticed.
“He's going to have to make the visits to the large Republican counties. He's going to have to do some grass-roots efforts to bring about a visibility,” Michael Long, state chairman of the Conservative Party, told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
“I've seen John out a little. Would I like it more? Sure,” added state GOP Chairman Stephen Minarik, who, like Long, is backing Spencer.
Six years ago, when the Democratic former first lady first won her Senate seat, things were very different.
Then-U.S. Rep. Rick Lazio, the fill-in GOP candidate after Rudolph Giuliani dropped out in the face of prostate cancer, left the state convention in late May on a three-day “Mainstream Express” bus trip across the state.
Through June, July and August, Lazio traveled the state and the country, raising his profile and a ton of money.
Even so, Long sat Lazio down at one point and told him he still wasn't working hard enough. Lazio spent $40 million and lost to Clinton by 12 percentage points.
For Spencer, the former Yonkers mayor, and McFarland, things are much worse at this stage.
They trail far behind Clinton in the polls and are both having trouble raising money. A statewide poll released Monday by Siena College's Research Institute had 57 percent of registered voters saying they would vote to re-elect Clinton.
Nearly 80 percent said they didn't know enough about Spencer or McFarland to have an opinion of them.
“This is a lot different than the Lazio campaign against Hillary,” Long said. “The world is not rallying around. They are not looking to go after Hillary.”
Long theorized that powerful money interests that often fuel Republican-Conservative candidates in New York are largely ignoring this year's Senate race for fear of retribution from Clinton, who leads the field of potential Democratic presidential contenders.
“A year from now, if the outcome of this election doesn't turn out well, you're going to hear a lot of people whining,” he predicted.
Rob Ryan, a top campaign aide to Spencer, said the candidate wasn't on the road during the first week in August because he was busy preparing for the first - and, so far, only - debate against McFarland.
That televised confrontation is being hosted tonight by NY-1, the all-news cable channel in New York City.
“This primary is preoccupying them from the goal of taking on Hillary Clinton,” said Minarik. “That's putting us even further behind the eight-ball.”
Besides debate prep, Spencer has been busy making fundraising calls.
“Right now, the main thing is having the money so we can go on TV and do the mailings ... The best way to reach everybody is not by traditional retail campaigning, it's by getting on TV and getting in the mail,” said Ryan.
Spencer did have a busy campaign weekend at the very end of July, visiting several newspapers in central New York, taking in a minor league baseball game in Syracuse, and attending the annual “Harborfest” in Oswego and the GOP “Lobsterfest” in rural Chenango County.
Thus far, neither Spencer nor McFarland has run TV ads. Clinton has also largely ignored the traditional campaign trail, peppering her schedule with Senate-type events instead.
She has yet to start TV advertising despite a campaign bankroll of $22 million. Money she saves now can be used for the 2008 presidential campaign many expect her to run.
Long said he expects Spencer to step up campaigning after the debate.
“He's going to have to do that if he's going to win the primary,” Long said.
She also did radio and television interviews, including an appearance on Chris Matthews' “Hardball” show on MSNBC.
Spencer's absence from the campaign trail, the place for the retail politics of handshaking and baby-kissing, has not gone unnoticed.
“He's going to have to make the visits to the large Republican counties. He's going to have to do some grass-roots efforts to bring about a visibility,” Michael Long, state chairman of the Conservative Party, told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
“I've seen John out a little. Would I like it more? Sure,” added state GOP Chairman Stephen Minarik, who, like Long, is backing Spencer.
Six years ago, when the Democratic former first lady first won her Senate seat, things were very different.
Then-U.S. Rep. Rick Lazio, the fill-in GOP candidate after Rudolph Giuliani dropped out in the face of prostate cancer, left the state convention in late May on a three-day “Mainstream Express” bus trip across the state.
Through June, July and August, Lazio traveled the state and the country, raising his profile and a ton of money.
Even so, Long sat Lazio down at one point and told him he still wasn't working hard enough. Lazio spent $40 million and lost to Clinton by 12 percentage points.
For Spencer, the former Yonkers mayor, and McFarland, things are much worse at this stage.
They trail far behind Clinton in the polls and are both having trouble raising money. A statewide poll released Monday by Siena College's Research Institute had 57 percent of registered voters saying they would vote to re-elect Clinton.
Nearly 80 percent said they didn't know enough about Spencer or McFarland to have an opinion of them.
“This is a lot different than the Lazio campaign against Hillary,” Long said. “The world is not rallying around. They are not looking to go after Hillary.”
Long theorized that powerful money interests that often fuel Republican-Conservative candidates in New York are largely ignoring this year's Senate race for fear of retribution from Clinton, who leads the field of potential Democratic presidential contenders.
“A year from now, if the outcome of this election doesn't turn out well, you're going to hear a lot of people whining,” he predicted.
Rob Ryan, a top campaign aide to Spencer, said the candidate wasn't on the road during the first week in August because he was busy preparing for the first - and, so far, only - debate against McFarland.
That televised confrontation is being hosted tonight by NY-1, the all-news cable channel in New York City.
“This primary is preoccupying them from the goal of taking on Hillary Clinton,” said Minarik. “That's putting us even further behind the eight-ball.”
Besides debate prep, Spencer has been busy making fundraising calls.
“Right now, the main thing is having the money so we can go on TV and do the mailings ... The best way to reach everybody is not by traditional retail campaigning, it's by getting on TV and getting in the mail,” said Ryan.
Spencer did have a busy campaign weekend at the very end of July, visiting several newspapers in central New York, taking in a minor league baseball game in Syracuse, and attending the annual “Harborfest” in Oswego and the GOP “Lobsterfest” in rural Chenango County.
Thus far, neither Spencer nor McFarland has run TV ads. Clinton has also largely ignored the traditional campaign trail, peppering her schedule with Senate-type events instead.
She has yet to start TV advertising despite a campaign bankroll of $22 million. Money she saves now can be used for the 2008 presidential campaign many expect her to run.
Long said he expects Spencer to step up campaigning after the debate.
“He's going to have to do that if he's going to win the primary,” Long said.
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