Door open for Fossella after GOP nomination not settled

Rep. Vito Fossella says he is not a candidate for Congress, but the door is open for the embattled New York Republican to make a comeback after the GOP nomination for his seat was left in limbo Tuesday.

Since Fossella announced his retirement earlier this year after being arrested for driving under the influence, which led to an admission he fathered a child out of wedlock, a series of unfortunate events have proved a stumbling block for Republicans hoping to hang onto the seat.

{mosads}The GOP’s first pick for the seat, Frank Powers, died suddenly in June before his campaign could get off the ground. (That was after his son, Fran Powers, threatened to run against him as the Libertarian Party’s candidate.)

Former state Assemblyman Bob Straniere was then brought back from Republican exile after angering district Republicans in past elections.

But after Straniere won the primary, some members of the GOP expressed doubts about his ability to hold the traditionally Republican seat.

Since New York held its primary election a few weeks ago, the only way to replace a person on the ballot is if one of the nominated candidates dies, moves out of state or runs for a judgeship.

On Monday, Manhattan Republicans nominated Straniere for a judgeship.

That means if Straniere accepts the slot, Fossella — who has been rumored to be considering a return to politics — would again be eligible to run. There would not be another primary. A Republican committee would appoint a new candidate.

But Straniere appears unlikely to forfeit his nomination and create such an opportunity.

“On no grounds would he” accept the judicial nomination, said Straniere spokesman Marco DeSena. “He’s had nothing to do with this, and this is all news to him. Nothing from his end or our end has changed. He’s running full steam ahead, and we’re very pleased with the headway we’re making.”

Fossella told the New York Daily News repeatedly on Tuesday that he is not a candidate “at this time.”

But former Borough President Guy Molinari told the Staten Island Advance that Straniere “can’t win,” so Molinari met with Fossella and Republican state Sen. Andrew Lanza at his home on Saturday in an attempt to get Fossella back in the race.

“We were hopeful that we could convince him to change his mind,” Molinari told the newspaper. “A lot of phone calls have been made. I do believe he could win.”

Molinari cited the $700 billion Wall Street bailout package as another reason he reached out to Fossella, who is chairman of the Capital Markets, Economic and Information Security Task Force of the House Republican Policy Committee.

“It’s vitally important that the Republicans hold that congressional seat,” Molinari said, according to the Advance.

The Straniere campaign had struggled in recent weeks against Democratic candidate Mike McMahon, and Straniere himself said last week that he would not abandon the race.

“I am not going anywhere, except to Washington as a congressman,” he told The Hill.

Adding to the drama is recent shuffling for the Conservative Party’s nomination in the district. Conservative candidate Paul Atanasio dropped out of the race after being nominated for his own judgeship, and was replaced by GOP businessman Tim Cochrane. It also leaves a potential opening for Cochrane to run on the Republican line.

“I worked with Vito for a lot of years. I’m very saddened by the position he’s in,” New York Conservative Party Chairman Mike Long told the Daily News. “I don’t think his career is over, but I would think it’s over for this year. I think it’s ill-advised for him to do anything else, and I take him at his word that he’s not a candidate.”

The spokeswoman for the McMahon campaign was not immediately available for comment Tuesday afternoon.