Faso Has Post's Endorsement, Running Mate

Republican gubenatorial candidate John Faso picked up the endorsement of the New York Post today for the GOP nomination. The Post reasoned that with Faso already slated for the Conservative Party line on the ballot, Republican's would run the risk of finishing third with William Weld as their standard bearer.

Faso also has a running mate. The Journal News today reported that Rockland County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef, who last week passed on a run for state comptroller, will be announced as Faso's choice for Lieutenant Governor tomorrow.

SIENA POLL SHOWS THE STATUS QUO IN DEMOCRATIC RACES

Siena College released a poll on the Democratic statewide races today. There's very little new to report. Attorney General Eliot Spitzer still leads Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi by a huge margin in the governor's race and Andrew Cuomo has a 14-point lead over Mark Green in the race to replace Spitzer as attorney general. That's up one percentage point from the last Siena poll.

SWEENEY'S HOLD ON SEAT SEEN LESS CERTAIN

The Cook Political Report, which follows competitive and potentially competitive Congressional races, has kicked up by one notch the competitiveness level of the race for New York's 20th District.

Republican Rep. John Sweeney is facing a spirited challenge from Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand.

Cook now has the race listed as "leaning Republican," which is one notch more competitive than it's previous ranking as "likely Republican."

The 19th District race is still listed as "likely Republican," as it has been since first appearing on the list of potentially competitive races a few months back. The incumbent there is Republican Rep. Sue Kelly.


GOP FACING STRONGER CHALLENGE ON A NATIONAL LEVEL

The inside-the-Beltway publication Roll Call has listed it's top 10 most competitive House races. In all 10 races, a Republican is the incumbent. In its previous such listing six months ago, Roll Call said four of the races on the list involved districts currently held by Democrats. Roll Call is subscription only so you'll have to sign up if you want to see more than the first paragraph or two.

BUSH APPROVAL AT 32%

The American Research Group poll released today has President Bush's approval rating at 32%. If you look at the numbers, it appears the economy is creating jitters.


CLINTON PREDICTS NO ACTION ON IMMIGRATION BEFORE ELECTION

Sen. Hillary Clinton predicts immigration reform will not be passed before the elections this fall.
According to the Long Island Business News, Clinton told a gethering of businessmen this morning that she expects the Senate to pass reform soon, but that it will get bogged down when the House and Senate try to mesh their widely differing approaches to the immigration problem.

GIULIANI SAYS HILLARY HAS DEMOCRATIC FIELD ''ALL TO HERSELF"

Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani told the Boston Herald in a wide-ranging interview that it appears Sen. Hillary Clinton has the Democratic presidential field all to herself. He listed himself and Arizona Senator John McCain as frontrunners for the GOP nomination.

NEW YORK MAGAZINE PROFILES AL GORE AS THE COMEBACK KID

Giuliani may think Clinton is in the driver's seat for the Democrats, but New York Magazine profiles the party's 2000 candidate Al Gore as the comeback kid. The story paints Gore as the man to come to the rescue of Democrats who fear the inevitability of a Clinton nomination and ultimate defeat in the general election.

Gore's buzz factor is getting a jolt from the scheduled release of his film on the catastrophic consequences of global warming. The film, An Inconvenient Truth, opens Wednesday in New York. Click here to view the movie trailer.

Also in the week's New York Magazine, a piece entitled The Trouble With Hillary looks at the enigma that New York's senator has become.

ANOTHER VIEW ON SENATOR JOE

The liberal wing of the Democratic Party is rejoicing over the strong showing by Ned Lamont at the Connecticut Democratic Party convention this weekend. As you know by now, Lamont, who is challenging Sen. Joe Lieberman for the Democratic nomination, received well more than enough votes at the convention to force a primary.

Veteran political analyst Stuart Rothenberg writes today on his blog, The Rothenberg Report, that Lieberman is being villified for showing independence and refusing to tow the party line. Although he considers it unlikely, Rothenberg said a Lieberman defeat would be a "sad, sad chapter in American politics."