Republican Joe Lhota is a superior candidate to Democrat Bill de Blasio for mayor of New York City but is poised to lose the election — thanks in part to a lackluster campaign, says Heather Mac Donald, a fellow at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research.
"It's very disappointing . . . but it just shows that political skills are not ubiquitous," Mac Donald told "The Steve Malzberg Show" on Newsmax TV.
"Not everybody has them, and Lhota, [who ran the Metropolitan Transportation Authority] was a fabulous manager . . . de Blasio has absolutely no management experience. He's just been a government hanger-on all of his life. But Lhota did not run the best campaign. There's just no question."
She thinks a pivotal downturn for Lhota came during the first mayoral debate.
"[Lhota] was asked would de Blasio jeopardize public safety in New York, [and] rather than striking this low, slow-hanging pitch right out of the park, he waffled and said he didn't know," Mac Donald said.
"So, he's obviously got a very cautious nature and has not educated New Yorkers about the absolute fragility of our current situation and the fact that it could all go back again."
Mac Donald, a contributor to City Journal and the New York Post, fears that under de Blasio's liberal policies, crime rates could skyrocket and quality of life could suffer.
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