Massa Won't Run For Second Term
Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY) is finished with Congress after a single term, he plans to announce in a press conference call today, sources confirm to Hotline OnCall.
Massa, a former top aide on the House Armed Services Committee and aide to ret. Gen. Wes Clark, will cite health reasons in his announcement, the New York Daily News, which broke the story, reported today, though Massa warned a source for the paper about "hearing things that aren't true," a seemingly veiled reference to embarrassing information that may emerge.
The first-term Congressman, who twice ran for his upstate NY seat, was a top target of the NRCC from the beginning. In '06, he lost to Rep. Randy Kuhl (R) by just 6K votes; in '08, he returned and beat Kuhl by a narrower 5K vote margin.
Yet until today's news, he had not showed any signs that he would step down. He had raised more than $1M to date and had $643K in the bank, according to the latest FEC reports he filed.
Corning Mayor Tom Reed (R) has been the lone GOPer in the race against Massa, but his fundraising hasn't been stellar, and other GOPers may be easily enticed to jump in an open seat contest. GOP sources list Monroe Co. Exec. Maggie Brooks (R), Assemb. Min. Ldr. Brian Kolb (R) and state Sens. Catharine Young (R) and George Winner (R), among others, as potential candidates.
Dems, meanwhile, have a much smaller bench in the region, although one Dem source names Hornell Mayor/Steuben Co. Dem Chair Shawn Hogan (D) as a favorite to replace Massa on the ballot. Dems still have time to put a strong candidate forward, as the filing deadline isn't until 7/15.
Still, without Massa, the GOP has an excellent shot to take back the seat Kuhl held for 4 years. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) won the district by a 51%-48% margin, one of just 4 districts he won in the 29-district Empire State.
Massa's district covers the southern tier of NY, including Elmira and the west side of the Finger Lakes.
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