by Craig Dimitri

U.S. Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R), one of the longest-serving members in the current Congress, is retiring.  State Sen. Ray Meier (R) and Oneida County District Attorney Peter Arcuri (D) are vying to replace him, in a GOP-leaning district.  The most recent independent poll was on Oct. 8-10, and that information might be too old to be of value.  But that poll indicated that back in early October, Arcuri had a solid 52%-43% lead over Meier, and might potentially pick up this long-time GOP seat for the Democrats.

If the name Ray Meier sounds familiar to college basketball fans, it is because he shares it with the long-time legendary coach Ray Meyer at DePaul in Chicago (although they spell it differently).  But to borrow a basketball analogy, Meier needs to start draining some threes this late in the contest.  Logically, this sprawling district, which encompasses all or part of ten counties, could be a Republican hold, given the fact that George W. Bush had carried it 53%-47% against John F. Kerry.  The MajorityWatch poll reflected a partisan breakdown of 43% Republican, 21% independent, 36% Democratic.  In addition, the polling data is three weeks old and might no longer be valid.  But in the meantime, Arcuri must be viewed as the favorite.   

Meier official campaign site – http://www.raymeierforcongress.com/

Arcuri official campaign site – http://www.arcuriforcongress.com/

MajorityWatch poll – http://www.majoritywatch.com/

Questions?  Comments?  Information?  You can contact Craig Dimitri at cdimitri1@yahoo.com. 

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