How did Al D’Amato get re-elected in 1986 and 1992?
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  How did Al D’Amato get re-elected in 1986 and 1992?
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Author Topic: How did Al D’Amato get re-elected in 1986 and 1992?  (Read 846 times)
darklordoftech
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« on: September 23, 2022, 12:35:25 AM »

He barely won in 1980, a good year for Republicans. 1986 was a bad year for Republicans and 1992 saw the defeat of a GOP President, and New York voted Democratic in both the 1988 and 1992 Presidential elections.
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President Punxsutawney Phil
TimTurner
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« Reply #1 on: September 23, 2022, 12:45:54 AM »

He had a reputation for getting potholes fixed.
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Podgy the Bear
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« Reply #2 on: September 23, 2022, 07:51:46 AM »

He had three elections in which he was the beneficiary of Democratic splits and lousy candidates:

1980--instead of giving its support to Elizabeth Holtzman (the Democratic nominee), the Liberal Party of New York gave its endorsement to Jacob Javits (who had lost the Republican nomination race to D'Amato).  Javits received 11% of the vote, and D'Amato won the race by 1 point.  BTW, the Liberal Party supported John Anderson, and that was enough to tip NY electoral votes to Ronald Reagan.

1986--D'Amato had the benefit to run against Mark Green, one of the most impractical and clueless politicians out there (he never won a political race).

1992--the Democrats split in the primary with four high profile candidates with significant egos.  Robert Abrams barely won the nomination against Geraldine Ferraro--and she provided minimal support during the campaign.  Even though Bill Clinton won NY by over 1 million votes, D'Amato pulled his race out by 80,000.

Finally, in 1998, the Democrats got their act together with Chuck Schumer, and D'Amato was appropriately drubbed--losing by 11 points.
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Mr.Phips
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« Reply #3 on: September 23, 2022, 11:10:50 AM »

Him winning in 1992 was basically equivalent to what Susan Collins pulled off in 2020.  D’Amato was widely expected to lose that year and at actually trailed Bob Abrams by 17 points in a mid September poll.
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OSR stands with Israel
Computer89
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« Reply #4 on: September 23, 2022, 01:36:40 PM »

Incumbency advantage was a huge thing in those days
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Mr. Smith
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« Reply #5 on: September 23, 2022, 04:53:33 PM »

Not sure about 1986, but in 1992, the opponent was laughably bad...but still a good enough campaigner to keep it close. Holtzman or Ferraro would've been better choices.
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Asenath Waite
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« Reply #6 on: September 23, 2022, 05:46:13 PM »

He was a popular retail politician, good at bringing pork back to the district. Also this was the era in which ticket splitting was still far more common place. Admittedly though it is kind of funny that he hung on in two election cycles that were terrible for Republicans only to lose his seat in what he probably thought was going to be smooth sailing.
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