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Poll: Gillibrand Beats Ford, But Ford's Got A Chance To Catch Her
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and former Rep. Harold Ford Jr. (D)
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A new Marist poll on the New York Senate race has good news for both Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and the man actively considering challenging her for the Democratic nomination this year, former Tennessee Rep. Harold Ford, Jr.
Among Democratic voters surveyed, Gillibrand leads Ford in a hypothetical matchup 43-24. It's a sizable lead for the less-than-popular Gillibrand, who Marist found has just a 31% approval rating among Democrats in New York. A full third of surveyed Democrats are undecided in the race, however, leaving Ford a lot of room to move up should he decide to run for the nomination.
The timing of the poll may not fully address the impact of Ford's recent stumbles in the press, however. Marist polled 370 New York Democrats on Wednesday and Thursday, the same two days an embarrassing New York Times interview with Ford was making its rounds through political circles. Most have said Ford's elitist-sounding answers about touring New York City by helicopter and relying chauffeured cars sent by NBC to commute won't endear him to residents in the city.
Still, the Marist numbers show that if Ford can overcome what might not have been the best introduction to New York City voters, he could give Gillibrand a run for her money.
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David Dunham
January 15, 2010 12:29 PM
Ford is a carpetbagger, out of step with NY values. He should go back to TE if he wants to resume a political career. Senator Gillibrand is a NYer born and bred. She will clean Ford's clock.
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cwnidog
January 15, 2010 12:39 PM in reply to David Dunham
Senator Gillibrand is a NYer born and bred. She will clean Ford's clock.
As shown by the overwhelming defeats handed to noted carpetbaggers Bobby Kennedy and Hillary Clinton.
Not that I think that Ford's any great prize. A DLC'er who's been working in banking for the last couple of years isn't anyone who should be let near the Senate.
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Viva!America!
January 15, 2010 3:25 PM in reply to cwnidog
Two words:
Kennedy and Clinton.
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FreeRider
January 15, 2010 3:28 PM in reply to Viva!America!
NO comparison.
Kennedy and Clinton were recruited by the party to run for the senate.
Kennedy and Clinton had not flamed out as a candidate in their own states.
Kennedy and Clinton didn't primary a sitting senator of their own party.
Kennedy and Clinton didn't flip-flop on every issue when they decided to run.
Kennedy and Clinton were well-liked as proud Democrats whereas Ford has tried to distance himself from his own party.
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theone718
January 15, 2010 7:17 PM in reply to FreeRider
Clinton went to EVERY SINGLE LAST DISTRICT in New York to get the people on her side. Ford hasn't even been in the 5 boroughs and takes the damn taxi everywhere. That isn't New York whatsoever.
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October 12, 2010 2:46 AM in reply to FreeRider
Not that I think that Ford's any great prize. A DLC'er who's been working in banking for the last couple of years isn't anyone who should be let near the Senate.I appreciate the concern which is been rose. The things need to be sorted out because it is about the individual but it can be with everyone. I like this particular article It gives me an additional input on the information around the world Thanks a lot and keep going with posting such information.
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Walter Mitty
January 15, 2010 12:41 PM
Ford is going to run as an independent.
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Walter Mitty
January 15, 2010 12:43 PM in reply to Walter Mitty
He's just using the Dem primary possibility to get free press. Why else would he run to the right of Gillibrand? He's pulling a Lieberman here, the GOP can't find a good candidate so will run a really poor one and the Ford's hope will be that GOP voters vote strategically and vote for him rather than the GOP candidate, while he pulls off votes from Gillibrands right.
It's glaringly obvious.
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commie atheist
January 15, 2010 1:30 PM in reply to Walter Mitty
Doubtful. He was angling for the job as chairmanof the DNC not that long ago. If he ran as an independent and killed Gillibrand's chances of being elected, he would be personna non grata in the party for years to come.
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EnnuiDivine
January 15, 2010 12:46 PM
I like Gillibrand and it's a damn shame she hasn't been able to get the exposure she deserves---and needs to to be able to hold on to the seat.
People who may accuse Gillibrand of swaying with the political winds (re: marriage equality and gun rights) are missing a pretty sizeable point: since entering Congress, Gillibrand was in favour of full civil unions and still backed some gun regulations. Since becoming senator, her views have been a more gradual shift to the left.
How anyone can believe Harold Ford's "transformation" is beyond me. He had his chance in 2006 and lost, due to incompetance on his part and abject racism on behalf of the TN GOP.
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Sailormarlowe
January 15, 2010 12:49 PM
Yeah, New York loves a carpetbagger. Can you say "Hillary", or "Bobby Kennedy"?
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Powkat
January 15, 2010 1:06 PM
What the hell is wrong with this country? Is the collective attention span so reduced by television commercials and Twitter that people can't remember what was going on a year ago? Republicans and corporate Democrats had allowed the financial sector to rob us for years and then we were forced to bail them out to save the world from Great Depression 2.0. And now the idiots are right back to buying the bullsh*t. We are unquestionably on the long slide from Empire.
I am seriously considering moving to another country when I retire in 3 years. I have been an activist for over 40 years, but it seems that Americans have grown so stupid that it's no longer worth trying to save the country.
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pmo
January 15, 2010 2:20 PM
Cenk at Young Turks does a pretty good job of destroying Harold Ford: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiTnNFIeUaQ
The upshot is that Harold Ford is a silver spoon egomaniac so out of touch with regular people that he will sooner or later implode. He is simply a gaffe waiting to happen. I particularly like his response to the question "have you even been to all 5 boroughs of NYC?".....he actually said that he flew over Brooklyn and Queens in a helicopter once and then landed in Staten Island, so "yes".
I think it is important to remember that there is no fair comparison between Harold Ford and Hillary Clinton. Hillary won in 2000 because of three key conditions that Harold Ford does not enjoy:
1. Hillary's main challenger, Rudy Giuliani, backed out due to a prostate cancer diagnosis with 5 months to go.
2. Hillary used every bit of Bill Clinton's political capital.
3. Rudy's replacement, Rick Lazio, was a buffoon and widely known in New York as a right-wing zealot.
Further, Harold Ford does not possess Hillary's political acumen by a stretch and his "evolving" opinions are sure to be viewed by New Yorkers as shameless political pandering. Don't fret Dems, he doesn't stand a chance, and I frankly will enjoy watching him fall back down to reality.
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