Corwin trailing in tomorrow's NY 26 Special Election

[scandal 951]

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0511/55556.html

WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y. — Republican Jane Corwin badly wants to be the candidate of change in Tuesday’s special election, but the wave that swept 63 new Republicans into the House last November might have passed her by.

Her final pitch during a telephone town hall Monday afternoon, which the campaign said attracted 13,400 listeners, largely mirrored boilerplate GOP talking points from a year ago: job creation and reining in the debt.

But running against Washington turns out to be a lot harder when your party controls the House.

Democrats still hold the Senate and the White House, but Corwin finds herself in a race that has largely become a referendum on Medicare and the budget proposed by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.).

Corwin’s struggles in New York’s Republican-leaning 26th District may foreshadow the challenge House freshmen will face next year when they’re up for reelection: They ran against Washington, but now in the minds of many voters, they are Washington.

“There are people out there who blame Congress for problems right now, and there are other people who blame the president and the Senate,” Corwin told POLITICO at her campaign headquarters. “Lots of things need to change in all the areas of government.”

“I’m not a career politician,” she said. “I’ve got private sector experience and I’ve got enough government experience to understand what’s working and what isn’t. I’m ready to go out there and change it.”

Corwin’s challenge came into view as she made calls from the phone bank at her office. A cynical Republican expressed frustration with a government he said is out of touch.

“You know what? I feel the same way,” she told him. “That’s why I decided to run for the Assembly in 2008 and why I’m running for Congress now. It’s a mess!”

The campaign is trying to reach these frustrated Republicans with a robocall recorded by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

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