BUFFALO - Gov. Eliot Spitzer's plan to give illegal immigrants driver's licenses failed to trump local issues in the minds of voters, despite Republican attempts to gain momentum on the controversy, the state's Democratic Party chair said Wednesday.
“Contrary to what the political analysts have been saying for the last several weeks, that the driver's license issue was going to be pivotal, I think quite the contrary was proved,” June O'Neill said after Democrats emerged as winners in races where the issue loomed large in campaigns.
Erie County Clerk Kathleen Hochul won by a large margin a few days after being pictured with Spitzer in a full-page newspaper ad in which Republican challenger Bill O'Loughlin said he'd go to jail before giving a license to an illegal immigrant.
In Nassau County, incumbent David Mejias appeared to hold onto his legislative seat in a campaign in which he was painted as a close Spitzer ally.
Unofficial results had him leading Republican Joseph Belesi by 222 votes.
“What yesterday's elections proved is the old adage that all politics is local and that in the end, these races turned on local issues, local candidates and the local message,” O'Neill said.
That doesn't mean Democrats weren't worried about the effect of Spitzer's unpopular plan on the voter psyche, Canisius College politics professor Michael Haselswerdt said.
“It made people nervous that it could contribute to an environment in which Democrats were going to be hurt,” he said.
In Monroe County Tuesday, Democrats gained two seats on the County Legislature after a Republican mailing that warned Democrats “want to make it easier for illegals and terrorists to get driver's licenses!”
But Monroe County Republican Chairman Stephen Minarik said his party's losses could have been even worse had the driver's license issue not become forefront in the campaign. Despite the Democratic gains, the Republicans kept their majority.
“The war, (President) Bush's numbers are at an all-time low in our area, so we thought this election was going to be tough for Republicans,” Minarik said. “If it wasn't for the driver's license issue and Eliot Spitzer's foray into the immigration policy of our country, we would not have retained control of the Legislature.”
Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno called Republican victories in the Erie, Onondaga, Oneida and Dutchess County executive races “a rejection of Governor Spitzer's policies.”
“While the governor was physically absent from many election contests, his policies were clearly an issue on voters' minds as they went to the polls and voted for Republican candidates,” Bruno said.
In Erie County, Hochul's victory meant she could finally talk about her plans for the clerk's office, after spending most of the campaign explaining her stance on the driver's license plan. She opposes licenses for illegal immigrants but said she will accept applicant's paperwork and call the sheriff on anyone she believes is in the country illegally.
“I never thought I'd spend 90 percent of the county clerk campaign talking about illegal aliens,” she said after her win.
Erie County Clerk Kathleen Hochul won by a large margin a few days after being pictured with Spitzer in a full-page newspaper ad in which Republican challenger Bill O'Loughlin said he'd go to jail before giving a license to an illegal immigrant.
In Nassau County, incumbent David Mejias appeared to hold onto his legislative seat in a campaign in which he was painted as a close Spitzer ally.
Unofficial results had him leading Republican Joseph Belesi by 222 votes.
“What yesterday's elections proved is the old adage that all politics is local and that in the end, these races turned on local issues, local candidates and the local message,” O'Neill said.
That doesn't mean Democrats weren't worried about the effect of Spitzer's unpopular plan on the voter psyche, Canisius College politics professor Michael Haselswerdt said.
“It made people nervous that it could contribute to an environment in which Democrats were going to be hurt,” he said.
In Monroe County Tuesday, Democrats gained two seats on the County Legislature after a Republican mailing that warned Democrats “want to make it easier for illegals and terrorists to get driver's licenses!”
But Monroe County Republican Chairman Stephen Minarik said his party's losses could have been even worse had the driver's license issue not become forefront in the campaign. Despite the Democratic gains, the Republicans kept their majority.
“The war, (President) Bush's numbers are at an all-time low in our area, so we thought this election was going to be tough for Republicans,” Minarik said. “If it wasn't for the driver's license issue and Eliot Spitzer's foray into the immigration policy of our country, we would not have retained control of the Legislature.”
Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno called Republican victories in the Erie, Onondaga, Oneida and Dutchess County executive races “a rejection of Governor Spitzer's policies.”
“While the governor was physically absent from many election contests, his policies were clearly an issue on voters' minds as they went to the polls and voted for Republican candidates,” Bruno said.
In Erie County, Hochul's victory meant she could finally talk about her plans for the clerk's office, after spending most of the campaign explaining her stance on the driver's license plan. She opposes licenses for illegal immigrants but said she will accept applicant's paperwork and call the sheriff on anyone she believes is in the country illegally.
“I never thought I'd spend 90 percent of the county clerk campaign talking about illegal aliens,” she said after her win.
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