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Conservative Party of New York State

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The Conservative Party of New York is an American political party active only in the state of New York. It was founded in 1962 by a group including J. Daniel Mahoney, Charles E. Rice, and Charles Edison, out of frustration with the perceived liberalism of the state's Republican Party. An early supporter was National Review editor William F. Buckley, who served as the party's candidate for mayor of New York City in 1965. In 1970, James Buckley, brother of William, was elected to the U.S. Senate as a Conservative Party candidate; however, in 1976, he ran for reelection as a candidate of the Republican and Conservative Parties, losing to Daniel Patrick Moynihan. In the 2004 U.S. Senate election, the Conservative Party endorsed Marilyn O'Grady to oppose Republican candidate Howard Mills and incumbent Democratic Senator Charles Schumer.

The Conservative Party has often been aligned with Catholic voters and candidates. It was formed during a period when New York's Republican party was dominated by Nelson Rockefeller and his WASP oriented, more liberal Rockefeller Republicans [1]

In most cases, the Conservative Party's strategy is to endorse the same candidate as the Republicans, but to withhold its support from candidates it decides to be too liberal. For example, the Conservative Party withheld its support from Republican Rudy Giuliani's fusion campaigns with endorsement from the Liberal Party for New York City mayor in 1989, 1993[1] and 1997[2]; its lack of support in 1989 was one important factor in Giuliani losing that year[citation needed]. The decision not to endorse party-switching Syracuse state Senator Nancy Larraine Hoffmann cost the GOP that seat in the 2004 election. However it has also endorsed Democratic candidates as well, such as controversial former Buffalo mayor and presidential candidate Jimmy Griffin, who was initially elected mayor solely on the Conservative ticket but had Republican support as well for his subsequent campaigns. It also cross-endorsed such Democrats as former Manhattan District Attorney Frank Hogan and Capital District Congressman Michael McNulty. No Republican has won statewide office in New York without Conservative Party support since 1974. [2]

The Conservative Party in the New York State elections 2006

The Conservative Party has been significant in influencing the decisions of the Republican Party. The party lobbied against Jeanine Pirro's candidacy for the 2006 Senate election against Hillary Clinton. Pirro was a moderate Republican and was supported by Governor George Pataki and other GOP leaders who saw her as the only candidate who could compete against Clinton. Under pressure from the Conservative Party and factions within the GOP, Pirro withdrew from the race in November 2005 to run for state attorney general. She was defeated in that race by Andrew Cuomo. Most Conservative Party state and county leaders supported John Spencer, former mayor of Yonkers, New York. While Spencer received the Republican nomination, he was defeated by Clinton buffalo in the general election. In the race for Governor, Conservative Party Chairman Michael Long has endorsed John Faso [3], the former House Minority Leader and Republican State Comptroller nominee in 2002. He has also received the endorsements of county branches of the Conservative Party. Bill Weld, John Faso's primary contender, has received lukewarm support from the Conservative Party due to his support of abortion and same-sex marriage. He flirted with running on the Libertarian Party ticket. Faso was the nominee of both the Republican and Conservative parties but was defeated by Eliot Spitzer.

References

  1. ^ James Bennet, "Giuliani is endorsed by New York Liberal Party," "New York Times," May 16, 1993 http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE5DA153EF935A25756C0A965958260
  2. ^ Bob Fois, "Revisionist Politics," "News Copy New York" March 8, 2006 http://www.newscopy.org/liberal_party/index.html
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