Recchia “well-positioned” to win Grimm’s seat, says DCCC

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) has chosen Brooklyn Councilmember Domenic Recchia – who is running for Congressmember Michael Grimm’s seat – as one of its “JumpStart” candidates.

Steve Israel, chair of the DCCC created the “JumpStart” campaign this election cycle “to provide critical, early support to top-tier Democratic candidates in competitive districts.”

Recchia is one of the eight chosen candidates who will receive financial, communications, operational and strategic support to help his Congressional campaign. According to the DCCC, “voters are fed up with the partisan ideology and obstructionism of this Republican Congress and these candidates will offer the antidote.”

Grimm, who was first elected to Congress in 2008, represents all of Staten Island and a portion of southwestern Brooklyn (now in the 11^th Congressional District). He is the only Republican in the Brooklyn Congressional delegation.

With approximately 70 percent of the district on the other side of the Narrows, the seat has historically gone to a Staten Islander and, except for a two-year term when Democrat Michael McMahon held the seat, has been held by a Republican going all the way back to 1981. But, over the past couple of years, officials have probed the actions of some of Grimm’s associates and their fund-raising practices.

The DCCC said that “Councilman Recchia is a fiscally responsible leader who has proven his ability to get results as chairman of the finance committee for the New York City Council.”

Recchia said that he was delighted to hear the news. “Being in this program will help us make sure we have the strategic and operational resources we need to win from the very start,” he said. “It means we are one of the top races to watch and that means that the GOP’s outside groups will be watching and salivating to defeat us.”

“Being selected into the JumpStart program means it’s even more important that we have the resources to fight against the attacks of outside groups,” he went on. “We have to have a strong showing.”

By press time, a Grimm spokesperson declined to comment on the announcement.