In a surprising twist, the GOP is surging in New York state in several key races that were long thought unwinnable, according to the
New York Post. The paper reported Monday that Republican Harry Wilson is in a dead heat with Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli while GOP stalwart Dan Donovan is surging against Eric Schneiderman in the attorney general’s race.
The latest Siena College poll shows Donovan and Schneiderman tied 44 percent to 44 percent. That’s also the case with Wilson and DiNapoli. What’s especially shocking is that the two Republicans were unknowns in state politics and could not capitalize on any name recognition. The very fact that they’re climbing suggests that the GOP surge is so strong that many voters may be going with a straight Republican ticket in the voting booth to underscore their anger at Democrats.
Even more importantly, many of these surge voters are nominal independents.
“When you’re tied like this the independent vote is going to decide,” Jeanne Zaino, a political science professor from Iona College, told the Post. “In these cases, you wouldn’t want to be an incumbent like DiNapoli or and insider like Schneiderman.”
Just weeks ago both of these candidates were down by double digits.
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