Should NY reshuffle the campaign deck?

Bush political adviser Karl Rove told a closed-door fund-raiser for Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele in Washington on Tuesday that Steele's campaign for the Senate is a top White House priority for 2006.

Steele is running for a Senate seat left empty by the retirement of Democratic Sen. Paul Sarbanes. The capital lobbyists who attended the even were urged to exert more effort for Steele than usual for an empty-seat contest. Steele, an African-American, fits in with Bush's emphasis on raising the GOP share of the black vote. ~ Robert D. Novak reports Jul 30, 2005.

Polls indicate that in a race for New York's Senate, Clinton beats either Pirro or Edward Cox by 30 points. ~ Siena Research Institute Jun 14, 2005.

New York Governor, George Pataki, announces he will not seek a fourth term. ~ All the local papers Jul 27, 2005.

I'm not Stephen Minarik, but I see a huge opportunity here for New York to seriously take a look at what would be some wise reshuffling for the 2006 elections. For some reason, our State Party Committe thinks hand picked candidates would be best for the party when it comes to elections. Many of us in the grassroots base in the republican party for major reform recommend primaries. Clearly, many of our recent elections had hand-picked candidates who have lost elections by embarrassing numbers. But if the influence of nudging potential candidates in the right campaigns is something Mr. Minarik wants on his plate, here are some suggestions.

First, I would contact Westchester D.A. Jeanine Pirro and give her my approval to run for Attorney General. The Democrats are going to field either Andrew Cuomo or Mark Green or both. Rick Lazio has been suggested for the seat, but who has a strong record to run on? It's Jeanine Pirro. Attorney General is the office she wants and I believe it is the office she has potential in winning.

Second, I would call Secretary of State, Randy Daniels, and tell him that he should forego running for Governor and decide his best seat is to challenge Hillary Clinton for the US Senate seat. Nothing would be better for the Republican Party than to have two African-American Republicans (Mr. Daniels & Mr. Steele) running for the US Senate.

What about Ed Cox and William Brenner and John Spencer? Well, I think keeping a primary for US Senate would be a good thing, but the third thing I would do (if I was Mr. Minarik) is contact Ed Cox and recommend he run for Governor.

Ed Cox is probably the strongest Republican candidate from New York State. Why not see him take a shot at the most important office for our State? He will most likely run a heck of a good campaign against Hillary Clinton, but our current Senator will be very difficult to beat. My belief is that Ed Cox can run a just as formidable campaign against Eliot Spitzer and it is just what the Republican Party needs to do for next year. Our State Budget is $107 billion with Medicaid bankrupting the State. Mr. Cox is just the type of Republican to travel to every county and campaign on major reform and fiscal responsibility.

Randy Daniels is considered a future star in New York politics, but he's still considered an unknown among the average New Yorker. When Mr. Daniels does speeches, he explains the importance of the Reagan Revolution for New York and how we need to return New York back to when it provided jobs throughout upstate. Sen. Clinton ran a campaign in 2000 on bringing back jobs upstate, but she has not delivered. And with reports in New York City saying that 50% of African Americans are jobless, we need a messenger who can come in and say that the Democrats have not fullfilled their promise.

The fourth office, State Comptroller, will be a tough battle. Alan Hevesi has been doing a pretty good job and it will be difficult to exploit any shortcomings. However, this is not to say that Republicans should not run a candidate against Mr. Hevesi. If John Faso wishes to take another stab at it, by all means, he should run. If Rick Lazio is serious about seeking a statewide office, Comptroller is certainly something I believe Mr. Lazio can benefit New Yorkers.

I can't say I expect these changes to take place, but I implore Mr. Minarik to consider playing a hand that has potential of victory in two, possibly three of the Big Four offices next year. I have a right to dream.