Credit unions could see two of their friends-Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Rep. Carolyn Maloney-competing for the Democratic nomination for Senate in New York next year.
Several media reports indicate that Maloney, who has represented part of New York City in Congress since 1993, is on the verge of announcing that she is going to challenge Gillibrand, who earlier this year was appointed by Gov. David Patterson to the Senate to succeed Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton when she became Secretary of State.
The race, which would be decided in the primary election scheduled for Sept. 14, 2010, would feature two women who have been successful fundraisers. Maloney has had a longer relationship with credit unions because she is a senior member of the Financial Services Committee and the key sponsor of the recently passed legislation to overhaul credit card regulations.
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CUNA's PAC gave Gillibrand $1,000 when she ran for reelection to the U.S. House last year and $1,000 when she first ran in 2006. NAFCU's PAC gave her $1,000 when she ran in 2006. As of May 31, neither PAC had contributed to her Senate campaign. Gillibrand had just begun in her second term in the House representing a district in the Albany area when she was appointed to the Senate.
The political action committees of CUNA and NAFCU have both contributed $5,000 to Maloney's congressional campaign fund this year and those funds can be transferred for use in a Senate race. CUNA's PAC gave Maloney $10,000 in the 2008 election and NAFCU's PAC gave her $8,000.
The Obama administration has tried to avoid a potentially divisive primary in the Empire State. President Obama urged U.S. Rep. Steve Israel not to challenge Gillibrand and he agreed not to, and Vice President Biden met with Maloney earlier this week to try to persuade her not to run.
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