Kathleen Rice Scandal

As the election season draws to a close, competitors are stepping up to the plate to throw their final pitches and gather as many votes as possible from independents and those stuck in political crossroads. In the Fourth Congressional District of New York, redistricting and negative campaign ads have caused changes in recent poll numbers. The race has become increasingly competitive and the candidates are relying on supporters to show up and vote in order to swing the polls in their favor. Through the close analysis of the campaign taking place in New York’s Fourth District it appears that Kathleen Rice will be victorious in the upcoming election despite her slight decrease in popularity as of late. On September 19th, the local newspaper

Rice became associated with the scandal regarding Governor Andrew Cuomo and the Moreland Commission against Political Corruption. It was speculated that Cuomo was playing favorites to members of the Democratic Party as well as people who supported him financially. He and his constituents are rumored to have aided in financing a portion of Rice’s campaign for DA back in 2009, which Blakeman claims is, “Dishonest and a reflection of her values as a politician.” Blakeman has pressured Rice to release a statement regarding the situation but she has declined because the issue is under federal investigation at this time and is inappropriate to talk about publically until it has been fully resolved. Although her position in the matter is understandable and professional, Blakeman has succeeded in making her look guilty to the general public. Blakeman’s campaign has also spotlighted Rice’s professional history as District Attorney, making a spectacle of her mistakes while in office. During her previous term, Rice was accused of four different incidences of “misconduct” as well as two situations that have been deemed mistrials in cases regarding drug and alcohol abuse. Despite the court dismissal of one misruling, supporters of the Blakeman campaign have published articles in Newsday that speculate about

Kathleen made her federal tax returns public and challenged Blakeman to do the same. He blanched at her request and called her actions, “a stunt.” Rice responded with the claim that voters had the right to know and Blakeman quickly deflected the comment by bringing up Obama. Clearly, Rice was aiming to show her willingness to be transparent with voters and came out very much on top in this debate. The next day they faced off again and Blakeman catered to the people and decided to take the “Obama” strategy once more after noting the President’s low popularity ratings in the fourth district of New York. Reporters say that Rice countered by stating, “Every time he mentions Barack Obama, that is another opportunity lost to tell you what he is going to do for you.” This comment seems to be appropriate because the Fourth District places a high value on the candidate being a good representation of the beliefs of the district and despite their recent disfavor of the President, they seem to be more interested in hearing what the candidate plans on doing once elected rather than wasting time bad-mouthing those who already hold an office. Additionally, a large majority of the population in the fourth district voted for President Obama so bad-mouthing him is like slapping the voters on the hand for their mistake rather than encouraging their support through plans and policies for the