August 11, 2008

GOP hopeful seeks NY congressional seat

An Iraq war veteran from a traditionally Republican area of the Empire State hopes to return his congressional district to the GOP fold after a Democrat won the seat in 2006.

Marine Corps veteran Kieran Michael Lalor is the founder of Iraq Vets for Congress. Lalor is running for New York's 19th Congressional District seat located north of New York City, which until 2006 was reliably Republican. Only three Democrats had held the seat since World War I.
 
In 2006, 12-year GOP Congresswoman Sue Kelly was defeated by Democrat John Hall, a former rock musician with the 1970's band Orleans. Lalor contends Hall rode the wave of the 2006 Democratic congressional perfect storm.
 
"He's a hard, hard-left liberal. He took advantage of the 2006 situation. The incumbent Sue Kelly ran a very lackluster campaign. I don't think she realized she had a fight on her hands until it was too late," he notes. Lalor says Hall only won by one percentage point – about 5,000 votes – and that President Bush carried the district by 54 percent in 2004.
 
Lalor thinks Kelly was too liberal and believes that a conservative candidate like himself has the best chance of unseating Hall.