Rep. Timothy Bishop has had relatively little trouble winning re-election three times to his House seat.
Randy Altschule
But with anti-incumbent sentiment percolating coast to coast, seven Republicans, including a grandson of President Richard Nixon, are seeking the nomination to challenge the incumbent Democratic congressman from eastern Long Island.
But before they can take aim at Bishop, Republicans will first have to settle a simmering squabble among themselves. The county Republican chairman has already declared that one well-funded candidate can’t win, which has elicited complaints that the fix is in for Christopher Cox, the son of the state party chairman and Nixon’s grandson, to get the nomination.
As the sniping has intensified in recent weeks, a primary appears likely ahead of the November election.
The skirmish is between John Jay LaValle, elected last fall as Suffolk County Republican chairman, and businessman Randy Altschuler.
LaValle contends Altschuler can’t beat Bishop, saying he has repeatedly failed to vote, was once a member of the Green Party, and ran a company that allegedly boasted of sending jobs overseas.
“Altschuler has made a lot of errors; he’s made some very bad decisions,” said LaValle, who considered challenging Bishop for the seat several years ago. “I’ve never seen a guy crash and burn so quickly.”
Altschuler spokesman Rob Ryan disputed claims his candidate’s former company, Office Tiger, had outsourced American jobs to India. He also said Altschuler had been a member of the Green Party in 2001 and 2002, but joined the GOP after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.
“As a businessman, he also was beginning to feel the bite of the taxman, and that was another reason for his total transformation,” Ryan said.
The spokesman was less clear about Altschuler’s voting record, saying the candidate was very involved in business interests that precluded him from voting for years.
“Why is the county chairman attacking Randy?,” Ryan asked. “All he is doing is giving aid and comfort to the enemy.”
Ryan, who advised Conservative Doug Hoffman in last year’s contentious special election in the New York’s 23rd District upstate, would not commit to a primary, saying he was hopeful Altschuler would still be chosen.
Although he was re-elected with nominal opposition in the past three elections, Bishop is considered vulnerable this year because of the national unease with incumbents, particularly House Democrats backing President Obama’s policies.
Bishop announced last week that his campaign had raised $377,573 in the fourth quarter of 2009, giving him more than $1 million has he begins a quest for a fifth term.
Bishop knows 2010 is going to be a competitive election season, said spokesman Jon Schneider. “He’s never taken any race for granted. All he can do is be accountable for his actions.”
Cox, the 30-year-old son of Tricia Nixon Cox and state Republican Party chairman Edward Cox, formally announced his candidacy for the nomination last week. His spokesman said Cox is not currently doing interviews, but pointed to a campaign press release describing Cox as “a fiscal conservative who will fight for limited government and lower taxes.”
LaValle conceded there is grousing that, because Cox’s father runs the state party, the “fix” is in for his son getting the nod to run in the 1st Congressional District.
“So what?,” LaValle said of the whispers. “I knew some of the others were going to cry foul. The issue is who is the candidate that puts the Republican and Conservative parties in the best position to win in November. If that turns out to be Chris Cox, so what? That’s insider baseball and the average resident doesn’t care.”
LaValle said other qualified candidates in the hunt for the nomination include former CIA officer Gary Berntsen and George Demos, who prosecuted white collar fraud for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The county GOP’s nominee should be announced within weeks, LaValle said. He seemed unfazed about the possibility of a fractious primary.
“If we pick the best candidate, we will win,” he said.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.
