Spotlight turns to Harold Ford as Gillibrand challenger

Traditional thinking casts a New York Democratic primary as a left-leaning affair. So when the relatively unknown upstate Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand was tapped to replace Hillary Rodham Clinton as U.S. senator, some within her party were unnerved by her congressional stances supporting gun rights and opposing amnesty for illegal immigration, her past private legal work for big tobacco, and even her summer internship for Republican Sen. Alfonse D'Amato.

Gillibrand has shifted on issues. One potential Democratic rival after another toyed with running but deferred - in Rep. Steve Israel's case, after a call from the White House. Only labor activist Jonathan Tasini declared his candidacy, last June, but still faces severe fundraising challenges.

The spotlight has suddenly swerved to ex-Rep. Harold Ford Jr., a Democrat who ran for the U.S. Senate in 2006 in his home, Tennessee, where he hails from a well-known African-American political family. He moved to Manhattan and took a job at Merrill Lynch.

Ironically, Gillibrand supporters are the ones now looking to portray Ford - who contributed $1,000 to her campaign seven months ago - as having tilted rightward on visceral issues. Ford spokesman Davidson Goldin insisted Tuesday that on abortion rights, gun control and immigration reform, he's "right in line with the mainstream of the Democratic Party."

The concept of a Tennessee Ford as rising New York star might take adjustment. For years, Fred Dalton Thompson Jr., a former Republican senator from Tennessee, played Manhattan's elected district attorney on the television drama "Law & Order." Viewers might have wondered how he won in Harlem, the Upper West Side and Greenwich Village. Geography counts.

So does clout. President Barack Obama's spokesman, Robert Gibbs, on Monday reaffirmed White House support for Gillibrand, who's reportedly raised $7.1 million so far. Last week, senior New York Sen. Charles Schumer, her most visible political ally, met with Ford and reportedly told him a primary would be expensive and divisive and threaten to put a Republican in the seat.

Schumer told Newsday Tuesday: "I'm supporting Senator Gillibrand. I think she's done a good job. I'm not going to comment on that ."

Davidson said Ford "would bring independent-minded thinking on fair taxes and job creation - and not force New Yorkers to endure whatever the party big shots dictate."

Tom Basile, spokesman for GOP state chairman Ed Cox, said "Ford couldn't win a Senate race in his own state, and now has to shop for a place to run." He also criticized Gillibrand as lackluster.

Long-shot Tasini sees the landscape defined not as much by carpetbagging as bankrolling. "Generally speaking, I'd say any candidates that are awash in corporate money and represent Wall Street will be toxic for voters in the Democratic primary."

A strategic question arises: Couldn't the act of staving off a rival in a primary help Gillibrand in a general election - by giving her exposure and credibility, and defining her favorably to voters still unfamiliar with her?

That could become part of this year's public drama, should this Ford show last more than a couple of episodes. One Gillibrand backer said the pro-primary argument is legitimate. Her camp, of course, would like to define candidate Ford to the New York public - before he can define himself.