N.Y. candidate puts Facebook money into voter push

ELLENVILLE, N.Y. — In this economically struggling Catskills village, local residents who stopped by an Italian restaurant for free pizza recently said they're voting for change in November.

For some, that change is represented by Democratic congressional candidate Sean Eldridge, whose campaign paid for the pizza.

Eldridge, the wealthy husband of Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes, believes an effective get-out-the-vote effort could help give him an upset win in his bid to unseat two-term Republican Rep. Chris Gibson in New York's 19th District. The meet-and-greet at the Italian restaurant included sign-up sheets for volunteers willing to knock on doors.

"If we can turn out our folks, I think that could really make a difference,'' said Eldridge, who moved into the district early last year after purchasing a modern, expensive waterfront home on the Ashokan Reservoir. Since then, he's established seven field offices and passed the 250,000 mark for phone calls and door-knocking.

Gibson, an affable retired Army colonel with a reputation as a bipartisan political moderate, also has mustered a cadre of Election Day volunteers, including family members and friends in his hometown of Kinderhook, where he graduated from high school.

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Both Gibson and Eldridge support establishing a casino in the Catskills. If the state decides to locate the casino at the shuttered Borscht-Belt Nevele Grande Hotel, Ellenville and the surrounding area would see new jobs and hundreds of thousands of dollars for water and sewer services the village would provide.

"There is an air of excitement in Ellenville,'' Joe Stoeckler, the village manager, said.

The decision will be made at the state level, but local congressional support is considered important for later issues involving infrastructure development.

The congressional district, redrawn two years ago by a federal court, is a swing district with a recent history of being represented by Democrats.

Nationally, Republicans are expected to gain seats kin the U.S. House this year. In New York, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is focused mainly on protecting three vulnerable incumbents.

That means Eldridge would surprise political experts if he wins and takes over a seat currently held by a Republican.

Earlier this month, Eldridge spent another $1 million of his own money on the campaign. And on Wednesday, he contributed $500,000 more, putting his total personal investment at $3.34 million. The campaign has raised more than $5.48 million.

That's $2.5 million more than the $2.9 million raised by Gibson's campaign, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.

Gibson had a comfortable 24-percentage point lead over Eldridge in a Siena/Time Warner Cable News poll last month, but Eldridge released an internal poll Tuesday that says he's cut the lead by more than half, to 10 percentage points.

Gibson led 46% to 36% in the Global Strategy Group survey of 401 likely voters conducted October 16-19 with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points. A September survey by the Democratic pollster found Gibson with a 21-point lead. And an earlier survey in June had Gibson leading by 30 points.

But President Obama has an approval rating of only 43% in the district, and Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo holds only a 2-percentage-point lead there over his Republican challenger, Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino.

Eldridge and Gibson have clearly described their differences:

• Eldridge supports increasing the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour; Gibson told the Poughkeepsie Journal editorial board recently that an increase to $9 is "more politically gettable.''

• Gibson has stood by the GOP House leadership's decision not to allow floor votes on comprehensive immigration overhaul that passed the U.S. Senate and on a bill that would require background checks for firearms purchases at gun shows. Eldridge supports the Senate immigration bill and universal background checks for gun purchases.

• In a district where hydraulic fracturing to extract oil and natural gas is a hot-botton issue, Gibson has backed legislation that would require drillers to disclose the chemicals they use in the drilling process. He has also said local communities should be allowed to block drilling under their own authority. Eldridge opposes any "fracking" in New York.

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