Text size:

For now, a race is hypothetical

Dems: King is vulnerable, but challenge unlikely

BY J. JIONI PALMER | WASHINGTON BUREAU

December 13, 2005

WASHINGTON - Veteran Rep. Peter King (R-Seaford) is vulnerable to a Democratic challenge next year because of his staunch support of President George W. Bush and growing public angst over the war in Iraq, according to sources familiar with a poll commissioned by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

In an initial matchup against Suffolk Legis. David Bishop (D-West Babylon), who paid for half of the poll, King trounces the local lawmaker 55 percent to 37 percent, various local and national Democrats who have analyzed the results say. But those numbers flip in Bishop's favor - 55 percent to 38 percent - after a series of questions linking King to Bush.

"For example, he [King] said something like, 'I thank God every night that George Bush' is my president," former Suffolk County Executive Patrick Halpin said in reference to a poll question, paraphrasing King's comment in a letter to a constituent. "It kills him with the voters."

King said Democratic lobbyists that he is friendly with had already confirmed the basic finding of the poll, which he believes was probably designed for a predetermined outcome.

Bishop, who has run successfully in Republican-dominated areas for years, has opted not to take on King because the national party won't commit the money and human resources at this time to make it a priority race.

"I think they are waiting for other things to sort out," Suffolk County Democratic Chairman Richard Schaffer said of his negotiations with Congressional Campaign Committee officials about what their level of commitment would be.

Without firm assurances that the committee would assist Bishop in raising at least "$1.5 million and technical support," Schaffer said he advised Bishop not to mount a challenge.

Bishop declined to comment yesterday, except to say, "I'm disappointed because I know I could have beaten him."

A spokesperson for the Congressional Campaign Committee declined to comment.

King said he began to hear rumblings over the summer that Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.), chair of the committee, was interested in looking for a candidate to run against him.

At about the same time, Emanuel declined to comment to a Newsday reporter about his recruitment efforts in King's bi-county district, which runs mostly along Long Island's South Shore between Long Beach and Islip, with a sliver jetting north along the county line up to Glen Cove.

"I was not that concerned but, having said that, I always take every race seriously," King said.

Of Bishop's deciding against the race, King said, "It is unfortunate whoever runs will be the second choice." King went on to say that the Congressional Campaign Committee's reluctance to fund the challenge suggested that it viewed the race as unwinnable.

But according to an internal memorandum prepared for the committee that takes stock of the survey results, King is extremely susceptible to a Democratic challenge on a number of fronts. Chief among King's weak points is strong opposition within his district to the war in Iraq, which many think has made the country less secure. But at the same time, the paper concludes that knocking off King will be no easy task.

"King's lockstep support for Bush on Iraq puts him at odds with his constituents," said a Democratic Party insider, quoting directly from the document that also said, "It will take huge resources to educate voters about the real Peter King" because of the expensive nature of the New York media market.