A major daily newspaper in the 21st Congressional District, that has aggressively criticized both Republican candidates throughout the primary season, emphatically endorsed Matt Doheny on Wednesday, while issuing a scathing rebuke of his opponent, Elise Stefanik.
Among other criticisms, the Watertown Daily Times charged Stefanik with falsely describing her campaign as “positive,” when it has been anything but.
The editorial stated that, either by complicity or by her silence, Stefanik has enabled an atmosphere of negativity in this campaign, and that it has been a disservice to voters of the 21st District.
“What’s most concerning about Ms. Stefanik’s tactics, however, is ceding control of the attack portion of her campaign to dubious interests from outside the district—all the while denying that she had anything to do with them,” the Times wrote.
American Crossroads, a super PAC with links to GOP strategists Ed Gillespie and Karl Rove, has been running character assassination ads against Mr. Doheny on Ms. Stefanik’s behalf.
“A political campaign running negative ads against a rival is not new or surprising. But that a PAC run by people with no local ties should try to decide who will better represent the north country is offensive,” the Times wrote.
“This choice must be made by the voters who live, work and raise their families here in Northern New York, not by a cabal of GOP operatives with no stake in this race other than stacking the political deck in Washington in their favor.”
Stefanik has tried to claim separation from her mud-slinging supporters, but those arguments are feeble, according to the Times, which is having none of it.
A candidate cannot feign disinterest, as surrogates do their dirty work—surrogates that they, themselves, have courted.
And those propelling Stefanik’s campaign from the outside have been awful in their conduct, according to the Times.
“Ms. Stefanik has repeatedly enthused about how positive her campaign has been as she simultaneously tries to benefit from the petty, scurrilous and fraudulent ads being produced by American Crossroads,” the editorial said.
Her failure to speak to this negative component is troubling, according to the Times.
Ms. Stefanik claims to be positive, yet fails to put “her money where her mouth is,” it said.
“She should have…called on American Crossroads to stop the attack ads, acknowledged that she has little persuasion over her outside supporters or admitted that she approves of what the super PAC is doing,” the publication said.
Neither campaign—Doheny’s or Stefanik’s—has escaped the disapproval of the Times this primary season, a fact that lends particular magnitude to this week’s rebuke of Stefanik.
In its editorial, the newspaper acknowledged that Mr. Doheny has also produced attack ads against Ms. Stefanik, and that he had been scolded for citing an incorrect source.
But, in its final analysis, the Times drew a clear distinction between Doheny and Stefanik.
“Mr. Doheny has taken ownership of his ads, and he’s allowing the chips to fall where they may. He is not hiding behind a well-financed network of special interests whose goal isn’t necessarily to serve the people of the north country,” the editorial board wrote.
Mr. Doheny would be beholden to no one but “the voters of Northern New York who put him into office,” it said.
Doheny and Stefanik are not so different on other fronts, however, according to the Times.
“What’s amazing about the contest is how incredibly similar they are to each other on most topics worth discussing.”
Even so, Doheny is better suited to represent north country interests on Capitol Hill, the Times concluded.
“He would bring a demonstrated familiarity of our communities and a business background that his primary opponent, Elise M. Stefanik, lacks,” the editorial said.
The Times spoke of Doheny’s deep roots in the district. He was raised in Alexandria Bay and lives in Watertown, where he owns a business.
It contrasted that with Stefanik, who was raised outside the district, resided in another state for several years, and only recently took up residence in her parents’ vacation home.
“Mr. Doheny has intimate knowledge of the people and institutions of the north country and the problems we all confront on this side of the district. He has shown how he would integrate his instincts about our local concerns into practical policies that would serve our district well,” the Times wrote.
Though she is “quite articulate about issues of concern,” Ms. Stefanik “demonstrates less depth of understanding than a voter expects,” the Times said.