Politics

Bob Turner to run for Senate against Gillibrand

Alexis Levinson Political Reporter
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New York Republican Rep. Bob Turner will challenge Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, the Brooklyn congressman announced Tuesday, becoming the highest profile Republican seeking to take on the Democratic senator.

“I will travel to the Republican State Convention in Rochester later this week and humbly ask for the Republican nomination for the United States Senate,” Turner said in a statement.

“I will respectfully ask for the Conservative nomination a few days later at that Party’s convention. I have made my intentions known to the other Republican candidates in this race,” he added.

Turner is a recent addition to the House of Representatives, having been elected in September in a special election for the seat vacated by former Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner, who resigned after tweeting a picture of his erect penis to a Washington state college student.

Turner pulled off a huge upset in the special election, winning the reliably Democratic 9th Congressional District.

But when the redistricting maps for New York state are finalized in the next few days, Turner’s district is expected to be eliminated.

“I ran for the House six months ago as a private citizen fed up with what is happening in Washington,” Turner’s statement said. “I could not sit and watch career politicians sink my nation deeper into economic crisis. Brooklyn and Queens voters, of all political parties, graciously responded by sending me to Congress. It now appears that their district has been eliminated.”

“There is serious work to be done to get this economy back on track, and I will not walk away from that work now. I will run for the Senate, and I will run to win,” he said.

Three other Republicans have already announced they will seek the nomination to run against Gillibrand — Wendy Long, Joe Colvin and George Maragos.

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