More on the RGA and Corbett

Yesterday I wrote about the Republican Governors Association promising nearly a third of their cash on hand to a NY candidate. The Politico has an article on the subject today, "RGA ducks Levy's cash claim," by David Catanese (5/04). Excerpt:

The Republican Governors Association has gone silent after New York gubernatorial candidate Steve Levy claimed Friday that the organization plans to spend as much as $10 million to support his campaign.

Levy told the New York Post’s Fred Dicker that RGA Executive Director "Nick Ayers, one of the high-up persons for (RGA chairman) Haley Barbour," made the money pledge in a meeting that included state GOP chairman Ed Cox.

The Wall Street Journal touched on the subject today also, in "GOP governors group swings into action," by Douglas A. Blackmon. Here are two interesting paragraphs:

Governor's races are a critical, and often underestimated, factor in which of the two major parties dominates any election cycle. controlling the governor's office in key swing states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida or New Jersey can give a big advantage to presidential nominees in local publicity for party policies, passage of state election rules and local fund raising and grassroots support.

late

More important are 17 races still considered toss-ups by Cook, including presidential swing states such as Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida. Mr. Barbour said the swath of industrial states stretching from Iowa in the Midwest to New Jersey in the Northeast were particularly important to winning the White House in 2012.

With the stakes so high, for not only the 2012 presidential election but also the redistricting that will happen after this year's census, it may not be prudent for the RGA to put so many eggs in the NY basket, and might leave candidates in other states, like presumed Republican candidate Tom Corbett here in Pennsylvania, without the national support he might otherwise have and might have been counting on.