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Randall Terry Defeated - Cost $100 per Vote
Posted 9/17/98
The absentee votes haven't been counted yet, but it is clear that Randall Terry has been defeated in his bid to be the standard bearer of the Republican Party in the NY 26th Congressional District race against three-term incumbent Democrat, Maurice Hinchey. Mr. Terry garnered about 9,500 votes to opponent Bud Walker's 15,000 giving Terry 35% of the vote to Walker's 53%. (Third candidate Douglas Walter Drazen got about 12% of the votes.)
As I predicted, the Republicans of the district were not bought off by Terry's extraordinary excesses of spending for a primary. On the local Fox affiliate the night of the primary, Terry did allow has how he spent about $950,000 on his bid, which translates to about $100 per vote. Even though Terry is claiming he lost because of outside monies funding a smear campaign, the truth is, voters in this district know who and what he is and were not willing to overlook his past -- or endorse his present extremist political proposals.
Of course, we in this district have not seen the last of Terry. He will be in the race until the end, as the candidate of the Right to Life Party. (As a final slap to Terry, he was not even able to win the support of Conservatives in the District which would have allowed him to appear on that line.) How much more his backers are willing to spend on this waste of time and money, we don't know, but, considering what a great cash cow running for office has been, we expect to see Terry in there in two years when election season rolls around again.
Maybe the next time he should just stand on the street corner handing out the $100 bills. Perhaps he could get more votes.
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