With $2 Million in the Bank, Democrats Confident Re: 2010

Thompson Again Chosen for Major Democratic Campaign Role

Nine months out from the next big battle over control of the Senate chamber, the Democrats' political arm in the NYS Senate has once again tapped WNY's own Senator Antoine Thompson to play a major role in its 2010 campaign efforts.

As expected, Sen. Jeff Klein will chair the DSCC, overseeing all its activites and playing a "key role" in fundraising. Klein had been eyeing a run for AG, but it appears he has instead decided to stay where he is and rededicate his efforts to helping the Democrats stay in power.

Senator Thompson, along with Senators Liz Krueger and Malcolm Smith will serve as DSCC co-chairs, heading up candidate recruitment and management, campaign management and incumbent protection and communications and message development, respectively.

"Under the leadership of Senator Klein along with Senators Thompson, Krueger, and Smith, I am confident that Democrats will grow the majority in 2010 because New Yorkers understand that Democrats are committed to creating good jobs and reforming our broken property tax system," Senate Democratic Leader John Sampson said.

The DSCC reported having about $2 million on cash in its general and housekeeping accounts and almost no debt on Jan. 15. That leaves the Democrats in a far stronger financial position than their Republican counterparts.

The Senate Repubilican Campaign Committee, chaired by Sen. Tom Libous, of Binghamton, has about $1 million on hand in its three committee accounts. The Republicans have already targeted six Democratic incumbents - Valesky, Aubtertine, Stachowski, Stewart-Cousins, Foley and Johnson - and are planning to try to field candidates in other districts, too.

The Democrats have not yet settled on their top tier races, but plan to "go on the offense in more places than we ever had," DSCC Executive Director Josh Cherwin recently said..

Cherwin, a veteran of Al Gore's operation, is still working on restructuring and restaffing the campaign committee with Sampson loyalists.

(Cherwin himself replaced Smith's longtime aide, Rob Calentine; the DSCC spokesman Smith hired, Shams Tarek, was recently let go and has not yet been replaced).

The DSCC has also "hit the reset button" on all its political consulting contracts and currently has no one on retainer, Cherwin said. The committee will be re-evaluating its team, he said, with some firms likely returning, while others will not.

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