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Bush takes center stage 3rd Cong. district race
The ads from N.C. Leg. Dave Mejias (DMassapequa) follow a strategy that has been tried against King before, with little success. They look to discount King as a viable candidate and tap into the anti-Bush sentiment in the area by linking him closely with the President. One even portrays him as a King, complete with throne and crown, a tactic used against King ten years ago by his opponent Democrat Norma Grill, now a member of the Nassau County Planning Commission, and a listing under the website, political graveyard. Some of the advertising doesn't even prominently mention Mejias, a relative unknown throughout most of the district, which encompasses not only Mejias' home district of Massapequa but also large parts of Suffolk. It simply taps into the anti-Bush sentiment or portrays King as arrogant. "If the best they can do is offer up doctored pictures of me, then their campaign isn't going well," said King who has been in office for 14 years. "Issues in our country today are much too serious to be treated like that. It's juvenile." Mejias' campaign manager, Mike Premo makes no apologies for the strategy and said it is both sound and well thought through. "We are educating the public about Peter King's real record...the one he doesn't want you to see," said Premo. "There is a 70 percent disapproval rating on George Bush, and we need to highlight that King votes with Bush. That's how we will win." The strategy is one being used by Democrats across the country who are looking to win Congressional seats by tapping i n t o Bush's weakness-the war on terror. According to reports, a poll commissioned by the Democratic Congressional Campaign party in December showed that King was vulnerable to a democratic challenge because of the war and his support for the President. But Premo said his candidate is doing more than just pointing to King's weaknesses, he's reaching out to the voters personally. "We knocked on 47,000 doors and the m a t e - rial we handed out, as well as Dave's record and accomplishments on his website are very positive," he said. King said he believes the public is more intelligent than that, and is focusing his campaign on his accomplishments and the work that he says he is best qualified to do in Washington, particularly in helping to guard national security. "My opponent is waging a pretty empty and negative campaign and people will see that when we debate on real issues," said King, the Chairman of Homeland Security.
The Third Congressional district has 196,542 registered republicans and 133,799 Democrats and covers areas from Massapequa and Amityville to West Babylon and Long Beach. Election day is Tuesday, November 7 with the polls open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
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