BRUISIN’ S.I. BATTLE Donovan and Grimm face off in Tuesday primary for House seat
The Richmond Rumble. The Staten Island Smackdown. The South Brooklyn Brawl.
Republicans will head to the polls Tuesday in a primary election that at times seemed more like pay-per-view special: the ex-con and ex-Rep. Michael Grimm coming back from prison to try to unseat the mild-mannered Rep. Daniel Donovan and represent Staten Island and part of Brooklyn. Each rushed to the right in a borough where, unlike the others, President Trump remains deeply popular.
“It's certainly not enjoyable having two Republicans duking it out like this,” said Staten Island GOP Chairman Brandon Lantry, who along with the local party he leads, is backing Donovan. “I really want the focus to be on keeping the seat in Republican hands come November.”
But for now, the focus is on the two Republicans — who met in a raucous radio debate last week followed by a more subdued televised affair. Donovan has been endorsed by virtually the entire establishment — including President Trump — but Grimm, who served prison time after pleading guilty to felony tax evasion, has positioned himself as a returning hero and man of the people.
The race to the right is an outlier in the city, where last week virtually every elected official in the city ripped Trump's policy of separating families at the border. Both candidates defended it — but the way each did so could essentially sum up their approach to most issues.
Speaking to NY1, Donovan called the images “horrible” -before sticking mainly to Republican talking points: "Right now, the Trump administration is obeying the law. A child comes across our borders unaccompanied, we take care of that child. The few thousands of children being separated by their families — the Trump administration's interpretation of the law is that's what they are required to do."
Grimm, as he is wont to do, raised eyebrows when asked to respond to the cries of children separated from their parents: “I think it's extremely unfortunate. But what people are forgetting — they just want to listen to those tapes — I can take you to any nursery and you're going to hear the same exact things as a mother leaves to go to work and has to leave her child at daycare. You're going to hear those same exact things," Grimm said to NY1's Courtney Gross.
The ex-congressman first captured the attention of many outside of New York when he threatened to throw another NY1 reporter, Michael Scotto, off a balcony in the Capitol and to “break” him “in half,” “like a boy” —
putting him a bit ahead of the curve when it comes to bashing the media, a favorite tactic of Trump’s.
Still, Trump tweeted out his support for Donovan — alluding to Grimm’s conviction as a potential problem in the general election and warning voters to “Remember Alabama.” But Grimm has tapped into T rhetoric to dow - on time, insisting it was the result of a “witch hunt” and that he’d simply hired a few busboys off-the-books. Donovan, meanwhile, has sought to hit Grimm for hiring undocumented workers he now says he wants to deport.
But the congressman,
, as sometimes struggled to land his punches. Grimm, meanwhile, glided through insults -“you’re already done,” “you look like a fool” -- in the radio debate.
Joe Shikhman, a spokesman for Grimm, said he believed his candidate had the more devoted supporters -which could be key in a congressional primary being held in late June, on the last day of school.“It all depends on who shows up, and this is especially true in a primary, especially true in a first-timeever June primary on the last day of school,” Shikhman said. “This is really where our biggest advantage lies -- from everything we’ve seen, Michsupporters ’s are by and e several levels more ensiastic and excited about ng out and voting.” hikhman argued Donovan uld have to rely on “conants and labor bodies,” a rence to the congressn’s union endorsements. Jessica Proud, a spokesman for Donovan, said the candidate had a major get-out-thevote operation — with plans to knock on 25,000 doors the weekend ahead of the primary; and, yes, unions like the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association operating phone banks. If both sides agree on anything, it’s that turnout will be key -- and tricky, given the June date.
“It’s all about turnout now. We’ve spent the last six months identifying our supporters across the district from the South Shore to Brooklyn,” she said. “It’s all about reminding them that the election is on Tuesday and helping them get out the vote.”
Donovan will also have the local Republican Party’s help with a “robust get-out-thevote operation,” Lantry said.
Proud said the president’s endorsement of Donovan — which he’s touted just about everywhere, including on mobile billboards — has been making “a big impact,” something Lantry also cited.
“I do think the race is trending Dan,” Lantry said. “I think that Dan has a significant amount of momentum since the president came out and endorsed him and Mayor Giuliani came out and endorsed him.”
Democrats in the district have a crowded primary of their own, but the favorite is Army vet Max Rose, who has more cash on hand than both GOP candidates combined. Democrats hope to face Grimm in November, seeing him as a more vulnerable candidate given his conviction and the open question of what kind of support, particularly in terms of money, would come his way.
The local party will back whoever wins, Lantry said -though he emphasized he believed that would be Donovan.
“I, along with the county committee and the Republican rank-and-file, will stand with our Republican candidate, whoever he is,” Lantry said. “I do believe that will be Dan.”
And Grimm’s camp shot down the notion that he could struggle to tap into a national fund-raising apparatus, arguing that people are merely “doing Donovan a favor.”
“We’ve received assurance from several people in D.C. who are in a position to help that the help will be here as soon as we win,” Shikhman said.