U.S. Senate races heating up for both New York seats

WASHINGTON - Each of the three men seeking the GOP nomination to face Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand comes with offsetting strengths and weaknesses, say analysts and GOP insiders, but all also share the same obstacle: low name recognition.

Just days before next Tuesday's primary election, none of them has pulled away from the pack in a political atmosphere shaped by a sour economy and disenchantment with Washington that potentially gives the GOP its best shot at Gillibrand.

"They do all three come in with assets and liabilities," said David Birdsell, dean of Baruch College School of Public Affairs. "And the name recognition is paper-thin."

On Sept. 14, New Yorkers will pick the winner in a rare instance of being able to vote in races for both U.S. Senate seats, as Gillibrand runs to finish the last two years of Hillary Clinton's term and Sen. Charles Schumer seeks re-election.

On the ballot, Gillibrand faces lawyer Gail Goode for the Democratic nomination.

Lawyer Bruce Blakeman, accountant Joseph DioGuardi and economist David Malpass are vying to be her GOP opponent in the Nov. 2 general election.

Schumer has no Democratic opponent, but consultants Gary Berntsen and Jay Townsend are up for the GOP nomination.

With low turnout expected, the spotlight will be on the GOP's get-out-the vote effort, the pull of Conservative Party endorsements and the still-uncharted strength of the tea party movement in New York.

GOP leaders have higher hopes for the race against Gillibrand, who's struggled to make a name for herself, although she outpolls her GOP opponents.

But Republicans have yet to settle on a nominee. A Quinnipiac poll last week found that just half of them backed one of the hopefuls but two-thirds of those who named a favorite said they could change their mind before the vote.

The three share views on many issues, including lowering taxes, cutting spending and repealing the health care law.

Blakeman, 54, of Manhattan, said he brings an important advantage: the backing of the New York GOP and muscle of the Nassau County and other county GOP organizations.

Rivals have hit Blakeman for raising property taxes as presiding officer of the Nassau County Legislature. Blakeman said he's the true fiscal conservative: "I cut spending every year I was in the county legislature."

DioGuardi, 69, of Ossining, a two-term congressman from Westchester in the 1980s, has the Conservative Party backing and highest name recognition of the three (his daughter Kara was a judge on "American Idol"). He said his experience in Congress and as a CPA make him best able to address the economy.

His rivals attack him for losing six political races and voting in the House with President Ronald Reagan just half the time. He dismissed the attacks as "political rhetoric," and said his votes reflected his district.

Malpass, 54, an economic research consultant, said his work in the Reagan Treasury Department and expertise make him the best candidate to deal with the economic crisis. He's running on the Taxpayer line but said he also aims to win over tea party members. He won the New York Post's endorsement.

Rivals hit Malpass for his role as chief economist at Bear Stearns, the investment bank that collapsed after getting federal funds during the economic crisis. Malpass said he did research, not risky trades, there.

In the Schumer race, business consultant and former CIA officer Berntsen, 53, of Port Jefferson, faces marketing and political consultant Townsend, 55, of Cornwall-on-Hudson.

Townsend said he and Bern-tsen differ little, making their race about who can beat Schumer.

Townsend, backed by the Conservative Party, said he's working on voters upstate. Berntsen, the designated state GOP candidate, said he's working with 40 tea party groups across New York.

On the Democratic side of the ballot, Goode, 52, a former Bronx prosecutor and now a lawyer for New York City, said she's the "true Democrat" in the race who hasn't shifted positions on immigration and guns.

A Gillibrand spokesman responded that the senator "is proud to be the nominee of the Democratic Party and is fighting to change the broken government in Washington."