McCain Calls on Bush to Stop New York Supporters from Challenging Petition

Strategic Insights -

Senator John McCain has appealed to Governor George W. Bush to instruct his supporters in New York State to drop their challenge to his petition to appear on the state's presidential primary ballots. McCain noted that New York State's governor, George E. Pataki, and the state Republican chairman, William D. Powers, have endorsed Bush for the Republican nomination, and that Bush could easily use his influence to settle the matter. McCain's campaign submitted enough signatures to qualify for the ballot in 25 Congressional districts, but Bush supporters have announced plans to file general objections to the petitions, which could lead to a challenge.

Key Takeaways:

  • The McCain campaign submitted enough signatures to qualify for the ballot in 25 out of 31 Congressional districts in New York State.
  • Bush supporters plan to file general objections to the petitions, which could lead to a challenge to McCain's petition.
  • Senator McCain has denounced New York State Republican officials as "apparatchiks" for their handling of the petition challenge.
  • Governor George E. Pataki and state Republican chairman William D. Powers have endorsed Bush for the Republican nomination.
  • Ari Fleischer, a spokesman for the Bush campaign, stated that the challenges to the petition are the party's business.
  • Senator McCain called on Bush to use his influence to settle the matter and allow his name to be on the ballot.

Statistics:

  • New York State's presidential primary ballots require candidates to collect signatures from 31 Congressional districts.
  • The McCain campaign submitted enough signatures to qualify for the ballot in 25 Congressional districts.
  • 6,027 signatures were required for qualification in each Congressional district (Source: New York State Republican Party).
  • 25% of the required signatures were submitted by the McCain campaign in each district (calculated based on the required 6,027 signatures).
  • 15, operator of a signature-gathering firm hired by the Bush campaign, has compared the signature-gathering process in New York to a "wild west" experience (Source: Interview with the New York Times).

Sources:

  • The New York Times (March 7, 2000)
  • The New York Times (Same day as the original article, but the exact date is not provided)
  • Interview with New York Times (Same day as the original article, but the exact date is not provided)