ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A former Washington political staffer with strong backing from national conservative groups is taking on a self-funded businessman digging deeper into his personal fortune in the Republican primary for a northern New York congressional seat.
Investment manager Matthew Doheny of Watertown has failed twice to take the 21st District seat, narrowly losing to Democrat Bill Owens.
Owens is not to seeking re-election. Republicans are hoping to recapture what had been a Republican stronghold for years.
Doheny is opposed in Tuesday’s election by Elise Stefanik of Willsboro. The Harvard graduate worked on President George W. Bush’s staff and the national campaigns of former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Congressman Paul Ryan.
The Democratic nominee is documentary filmmaker and political novice Aaron Woolf.
The district sprawls through much of northern New York.
