So if you think turnout is going to be low for the Democrats, just think about the Republicans. Without primaries for governor or attorney general to attract voters to the polls, the only thing going for them — from the perspective of moving voters to polling places — is the Jerry Springer-esque Senate contest between John Spencer and KT McFarland.
Rob Ryan, Spencer’s spokesman, said he doubts that the Republican turnout will even break 200,000 statewide. And naturally, he predicts that the low turnout would work to Spencer’s advantage: “A lot of this is going to depend on who can bring out the vote; she (McFarland) has no base except for a couple of matrons on the Upper East Side. We have Yonkers and the Republican party getting out the vote for us.”
Ryan also pointed out that Yonkers is bigger than Syracuse, which, if we follow his logic, is a good thing.
McFarland’s campaign counters that her “kitchen talks” with voters across the state have won her the support of women outside of Park Avenue, who will come out to the polls in droves.
“We believe we are going to have strong support among women,” said Morgan Ortagus-Dobbs, McFarland’s spokeswoman. “We have been to the homes of so many women.”
Ortagus-Dobbs also had this piece of speculation about what would happen if, in the end, Spencer prevails:
“I don’t know how he (Spencer) thinks he is going to be able to debate Hillary Clinton if he can’t even stand up to KT.”
–Jason Horowitz