Powers hints he might pursue third-party bid

Former candidate Jon Powers is hinting that he might not drop his candidacy after losing the Democratic primary in New York’s 26th district earlier this week.

In a statement on his website, Powers said Wednesday that he is still mulling how best to proceed in the race for retiring Rep. Tom Reynolds’s (R) seat.

{mosads}A top recruit of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), Powers lost in an upset Tuesday to environmental activist Alice Kryzan. But he already has the Working Families Party (WFP) nomination sewn up, meaning he will remain on the ballot.

“As we are still on the ballot as the nominee for the Working Families Party, my family and team are currently deciding how best to proceed,” Powers said.

An official from the Working Families Party told The Hill on Wednesday that the party is expected to back Kryzan in the general election, despite the fact that Powers will remain its nominee.

Kryzan spokeswoman Anne Wadsworth said that Powers “did call Alice, and left a very gracious message.”

Wadsworth did not say whether Powers addressed the WFP situation.

While WFP officials acknowledged Thursday that there is little they can do to sway Powers, they said they expect voters to unite behind Kryzan.

The Powers campaign did not return multiple messages seeking comment Wednesday and Thursday.

“We’re fully behind Alice Kryzan,” said Erie County Democratic Party Chairman Leonard Lenihan, who had not yet spoken to Powers, despite exchanging messages. “I’ll tell him that I feel badly that he lost, but now the time has come to support the winner of the primary. And that winner is Alice Kryzan.”

Lenihan added that he does not expect Powers to participate in a WFP campaign, something Lenihan acknowledged would hurt Kryzan’s chances in the competitive district.

“He’s got a good future ahead of him,” Lenihan said. “It wouldn’t help him to get mired down in a situation where he’s the spoiler.”

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Since Kryzan’s victory on Tuesday, groups in the Democratic establishment have quickly fallen in line behind Kryzan. The DCCC added Kryzan to its Red to Blue program — a list of candidates that included Powers, prior to his loss.

Indications are that Kryzan will receive an endorsement, perhaps this week, from EMILY’s List, which supports Democratic women for office but wasn’t backing her in the primary.

“We’re pretty excited about this opportunity,” said EMILY’s List political director Jonathan Parker, who noted that Kryzan had attended the pro-abortion rights organization’s candidate training last year. “She surprised us.”