Anticipating historic political losses in New York tomorrow, state Republican leaders are lashing out at the national party in Washington, saying it has exploited New York donors and blown opportunities against a prime target, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.
The depth of frustration is hard to overstate. The national Republican Party and its candidates from outside New York have raised tens of millions of dollars here this year, party officials say. But they have spent little money helping the nominees for governor and Senate, John Faso and John Spencer, respectively, and there have been no morale-and-money-boosting visits on their behalf by leaders like President Bush or Senator John McCain.
Despite pleas for help, New York Republicans say they have been consistently rebuffed or ignored in Washington. Mr. Spencer, the challenger to Mrs. Clinton, said he was bewildered that the national party did not help him pressure her this fall, and instead left Mrs. Clinton free to campaign extensively for Democrats in other states.
“They blew the Hillary race, and now Hillary has a ton of i.o.u.s from Democrats nationwide for when she runs for president,” said Mr. Spencer, who is trailing Senator Clinton by more than 30 percentage points in most public polls.
Polls also show that the Democratic candidates for governor and attorney general appear poised for victory, and Democrats are hopeful about picking up one or more New York seats in Congress. They also believe they could win at least one seat in the New York State Senate, which is narrowly controlled by Republicans.
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