Politics

Republicans continue to be angry with Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner's comment at a Democrat rally last week where she called the GOP a "party of hatred."  Among those criticizing Miner's choice of words, New York State GOP party chair Ed Cox, and Republican Congresswoman Ann Marie Buerkle.  

Now, the head of the Republican party in Onondaga County is taking it one step further.

Democrat Congressman Bill Owens from Plattsburgh says passage of the federal farm bill that has stalled in Washington is one of his top priorities.

U.S. Senator Charles Schumer will be one of the featured speakers Wednesday night at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina.  The senior senator from New York says the 2012 election offers voters a clear choice.

New York state Democrats are well-represented at the Democratic National Convention which began in Charlotte, North Carolina Tuesday. But not all Democrats from the region are attending.

The contest for the one U.S. Senate seat from New York that is up for grabs starts in full force after Labor Day. And, for the first time ever, two women are pitted against each other in a statewide race. A Republican political unknown faces the Democrat chosen to fill the shoes of Hillary Clinton when she became Secretary of State. The two candidates visited the New York State Fair last week, admitting their names may still be unknown to many New Yorkers.

Democratic congressional candidate Dan Maffei and incumbent Congresswoman Ann Marie Buerkle head into the fall campaign in a statistical tie, two years after Republican Buerkle unseated Maffei by only 648 votes.

Last week, Democratic candidate Dan Maffei released the first television commercial in the highly contested 24th Congressional district. Now, the second ad for that race has come out, and it takes a decidedly different tone.

It can be tough to unseat an incumbent lawmaker in New York.

That's why both parties are having a tough time this year finding people to run for the state Legislature.

New York State will be in the thick of it when it comes to  races for Congress this November, because there are more competitive races than usual for house seats  in the Empire State.

Tuesday's federal primary in New York state was marked by low turnout.  New York's primaries were split into three dates this year, with a presidential primary in April, Tuesday's Congressional primary and a September primary for state Senate and Assembly candidates. Experts believe having a primary in June, which is not traditional for New York, contributed to the low turnout. But, it is now known who will be on the ballot for Congress in November.

June 26 is Congressional primary day in New York. Congressman Richard Hanna was elected in 2010 and is running for re-election in the newly redrawn 22nd district.  Hanna spoke with WRVO's Catherine Loper.

Ken Rudin is known as NPR's Political Junkie and has provided coverage of major elections, national conventions and debates for most of the past 20 years. WRVO's News Director, Catherine Loper, spent an hour speaking with Ken Rudin, along with SUNY Oswego Political Science Professor Bruce Altschuler, during a live broadcast on Thursday.