Yesterday, the NY State GOP ended its "disastrous" convention by voting on candidates to challenge Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. Bruce Blakeman, a Nassau County lawyer (and ex-husband of Paul McCartney's squeeze) got most of the votes, but former Bear Stearns economist David Malpass got enough votes for there to be a Republican primary this fall. more ›

One potential opponent after another has considered challenging Kirsten Gillibrand in the upcoming race for her senate seat, but though she’s been called “bland” and out of touch, most have stepped back. So how has the junior Democratic senator—who’s never been elected statewide and hasn’t performed well in the polls—staved off rivals like Tenesseean Harold Ford Jr., Daily News publisher Mort Zukerman, ex-governor George Pataki and more? Rev. Al Sharpton suggests that she “either has mystical powers or the best luck I have ever seen in politics…It is amazing.” more ›

Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is losing out in the polls to an opponent who hasn't even announced his candidacy yet. "We'll see down the road," said Republican ex-governor George Pataki, when asked if he would vie for the seat. Marist College research shows Pataki beating the former upstate congresswoman by two percentage points, 47-45. As for job approval, a scant 27 percent of the electorate believe Gillibrand, who critics say fails to connect with voters, is doing good work, reports the Post. Fifty-one percent rated her performance in the Senate as fair or poor, however the study suggests she could best other potential rivals like onetime Nassau County official Bruce Blakemen, American Idol dad Joe DioGuardi and former Wall Street economist David Malpass.
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What is it about Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand that makes so many people consider running against her? Today, two Republican candidates—one an economist, the other the father of a moderately famous person—announced that they will campaign against the appointed Senator. more ›

With Tennessean Harold Ford Jr. out of the picture, there’s plenty of room for other unusual characters to join the race for NY’s Senate. Joseph DioGuardi—dad to “American Idol” judge Kara DioGuardi—will announce his bid for Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s seat on Tuesday, reports the Daily News. Just yesterday sources suggested that Mayor Bloomberg’s longtime lady friend Diana Taylor would vie for the same Republican nomination. more ›

With Mort Zuckerman out of the running, Republicans are trying to convince former Bush advisor Dan Senor to run for Senate. Considering Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand's relatively low numbers in polls, GOP insiders think Senor—a defense expert, former spokesman for Iraq's coalition government, investment firm co-founder, and husband of CNN anchor Campbell Brown—could win the seat. more ›

One day after former Tennessee Congressman Harold Ford Jr. announced he wouldn't run for Senate, real estate billionaire and Daily News publisher Mort Zuckerman also bailed out of the race. Unlike Ford, who claims he quit to avoid an ugly primary, the 72-year-old said he won't run because he's too busy with family and business obligations: "[I]t is very difficult to see how I can devote the necessary time to either a campaign, or to working in Washington, if I were to win." more ›

The list of possible candidates considering challenging Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand keeps on growing. Dan Senor—a former advisor to Pres. Bush and a one-time spokesman for Iraq's provisional government—is reportedly "very interested" in running on the Republican ticket. more ›

Just one week after a bizarre Q and A in which he revealed he has only been to Staten Island by helicopter and has only been a full-time New York resident for a year, former Tennessee congressman and likely Senate candidate Harold Ford Jr. sat down with the Daily News — and refused to talk about the issues. In an interview "granted under the condition that the questions be limited to his rationale for running, and not issues," Ford blasted Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand as "weak in many places across the city and the state." more ›

Port Authority commissioner Bruce Blakeman wants to be mayor in 2009. We know this because we've read the news stories and we know this because his talking dog tells us. more ›