Tom Reed's 56-44 win in the general election is a pretty decent showing by Matt Zeller, who only had a few months to fundraise and campaign. It's interesting that there was around a 10,000 vote undervote in the special versus the general, indicating some confusion on the part of voters.
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Zeller got weird, claiming the chinese spend more on green jobs than on their military, which is way, way out of left field. Wearing sneakers with a business suit to a congressional debate also raised some eyebrows. Maybe the sneakers are why people in Corning and Bath voted for him. He also has an eerie resemblance to Massa's speaking style, the forced clipped sentences, the hyper-enthusiasm. No one in the rest of the district took him that seriously, which is why its now congressman-elect Reed.
They weren't sneakers-they were his combat boots and he wore them as part of his 'boots on the ground' tour of the 29th district the last 29 days of the election cycle-he also wore them to make sure people remembered that we still have troops operating on two fronts in the 'war against terrorism'
And by the way the Chinese actually do spend more $ on green tech than they do on their military-something that we could use some lessons in-may sound crazy to you but sustainable energy really is a national security issue
The last person Matt would care to resermble is Eric Massa. There have absolutely nothing in common. Matt has always been high energy and speaks fast because his mind is always racing. Thousands of people in the district took him very seriously especially those who watched the debates. All Reed could talk about was a line in the sand, having an open and honest debate, the miles he put on the car and when WE get to Washington DC. Is it possible that people in Corning know what he really is and does? He won't get away with it forever, especially down in Washington DC.
Sour grapes? Poor Loser? Matt's mom? Not sure what motivates you. Your guy lost - and 56% of the voters thought he wouldn't make as good a congressman as Reed would.
Now you can tell me how dumb the 56% are.
How many of that 56% voted the party line .... without knowing if he was a better man than Zeller or not? That was definitely true up here in Yates County and I'm sure in most areas outside of Corning.
No I'm, not Matt's mother or father just someone who met him and was very impressed by his intelligence and insight. Not sour grapes either as he did remarkably well for a 28 yr old with no party financing but a lot of energetic young supporters. As for the 56%, not dumb, just voting against anyone who wasn't a tea party or Republican. It will remain to be seen how good a congressman Reed will be.
Reed's success or lack thereof as a congressman indeed does remain to be seen - no question about that. But it would be the same if Zeller were elected.
Hey, Dude, shows how much you were paying attention. Those weren't sneakers. They are his combat boots he wore every day during his front-line tour in Afghanistan. As he stated at every debate, in press releases and interviews, he wore them during his "Boots on the Ground Tour" the month of October in honor of all those still serving (including his cousins) and in remembrance of his own growth while in service.
And 70,000 plus voters (and growing) took him seriously over a very short time.
Next time, check your facts before you post a slam.
If more young voters had come out to vote, things could have been very different. Matt had a lot of support from college kids who, unfortunately, were not from the 29th district.
Unfortunately, the number of young people in the district is declining at a rapid pace. Unless they vote absentee, appealing to the young vote is a recipe for failure, if not disaster. That's why you won't see any candidates calling for reducing entitlements around here. Why so-called "conservative" Janice Volk wanted to preserve Social Security as it is (a tenet of the Democratic platform).