Doheny hopes for second shot at Republican primary
It was one of the closest elections in the country in 2010. Democrat Bill Owens beat Republican Matt Doheny by less than 2,000 votes for the Congressional seat in New York's 23rd District. Doheny is back, hoping for another shot at Owens in November. But as our Brian Dwyer reports, before he can get that, he has to get past a political newcomer in the upcoming primary.
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WATERTOWN, N.Y. -- Just a couple of days ago, Congressional hopeful Kellie Greene told us that she felt her opponent in the upcoming republican primary, Matt Doheny, has basically ignored her campaign. But Doheny says it's much more about overcoming the past than it is about ignoring anyone.
"Not at all. We've been focused, as I've been saying since I decided to jump back in the race and do this again, that I want to make sure we have the Republican, but also the Conservative and Independence lines as well Brian. We want to make sure people have a clear choice, a clear choice on November 6th," said Doheny.
Make no mistake, Doheny thinks that person will be him. He may already have the Conservative and Independence lines this year, but what he doesn't want to happen is what happened to him in 2010: Losing to Congressman Bill Owens by less than 2,000 votes, largely because he wasn't the choice of all three parties. Conservative candidate Doug Hoffman got 9,500 votes, even after dropping out early.
"That's why we're working especially hard, seven days a week to make sure that we win the republican primary," Doheny said.
Doheny says the change in primary dates, along with those new eastern counties that will make up the new 21st district, require a lot of effort to get his name and message out.
"Economy is the job number one when you talk about people from the district here. Whether you live in Massena, Watertown, Potsdam or Ballston Spa, people say, 'What are you going to do about the economy?’" Doheny said.
And his answer has been consistent. Don't tax the job creators.
"If you want less of something, tax them more. Guess what? Job creators deal with incentives all the time. Guess what? You want to raise their taxes and make regulations more difficult and basically come with new mandates like Obama Care through health care, people aren't as incentivized to take the risk," Doheny said.
Now that last week of June will be a very busy one for Doheny, not only the primary on the 26th, but just four days later, he's getting married.
"It's been a lot of work. Mary's been an angel. She's been tremendous. She's done, obviously, a heck of a lot of the wedding planning. I've been involved, but she's the Commander in Chief of that enterprise," said Doheny.
Doheny saying that week will be one for the history books.
Doheny did in fact accept the debate challenged made by Kellie Greene earlier this week. Doheny offered a June 19th date at the SUNY Ranger School in Wanakena. Greene wasn't happy, saying the debate needs to be in a more media friendly area to benefit the most voters.