Clyburn, Gillibrand to stump for Murphy in NY

Democrat Scott Murphy is getting some more last-minute campaign help from a few prominent Democrats in the special election for New York’s open congressional seat.

House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.), the number three Democrat in the House, was scheduled to campaign with Murphy on Saturday in advance of Tuesday’s special election to replace Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D), who held the seat until her appointment to the Senate.

{mosads}Gillibrand will return on Sunday to her former congressional district to help Murphy in his final push against Republican state Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco.

“Visiting the Country View Diner the Sunday before Election Day has always been a tradition for Senator Gillibrand and this Sunday she will continue the tradition with Scott Murphy,” the Murphy campaign announced in a statement.

On Thursday the Democratic National Committee began running 30-second television ads in the Albany media market featuring an image of President Obama and with a narrator touting Murphy as “someone with the right skills to represent them in Washington” during “the worst recession in a generation.”

Vice President Biden on Thursday taped a 60-second radio spot for Murphy, arguing that a Murphy win will be critical to the Democrats’ economic recovery plans.

“Scott supports our economic recovery plan because it means 76,000 jobs for upstate and funding for schools, which helps keep property taxes down,” Biden says in the ad. “We have a lot of work to do, and Scott will help get it done.”

The tight race is being viewed as the first electoral referendum on the Obama White House’s approach to the recession, including the passage of the $787 billion economic stimulus plan, and the stakes are high on both sides.

So far, the White House has not gotten involved on the ground in the 20th District, and neither side had been able to tout high-profile surrogate appearances.