The Rockefeller Institute's Benjamin says 1996 budget negotiations could indicate where Republicans will pour the most resources in the elections. The goal may not be winning, but to create an image of vulnerability in the Democratic Party. If the GOP can turn the Assembly around by the year 2000, it can redraw district lines in its favor after the census. We don't make these switches too often in New York. In an effort to gain a majority in the Assembly.
Republicans plan to run candidate in every district in the coming election.
But with limited resources, the GOP must choose which races deserve the most attention and resources. Her Republican counterpart, John Faso, says his party has not committed itself to challenging any districts in particular. There are many criteria that alone, or in myriad combinations, could add up to a Democratic incumbent's defeat in 1996. Added to that mix is strong GOP enthusiasm or arrogance, from the Democrats' perspective carried over from 1994, when Republicans took Congress and New York's governorship. Take for example, the case of Democratic Majority Leader Michael Bragman of Onondaga County.