Can Michael Arcuri Campaign Effectively on Weekends?

After an initial rush of attention coming from Mike Arcuri’s campaign announcement and the announcement of Sherwood Boehlert’s retirement, the pendulum in the press has swung away from the Arcuri for Congress campaign. The Les Roberts for Congress campaign is able to note that prestigious congressional newletter The Hill sees Les Roberts as the Democratic candidate with the most momentum in the New York 24th District congressional primary race.

Political writer Elana Schor notes: “now that the seat looks more competitive, public-health analyst Les Roberts looks to have a leg up over the three other Democrats likely to run for Boehlert’s seat. Roberts, a former employee of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, had nearly $48,000 in his campaign coffers as of the beginning of this year, according to Federal Election Commission disclosure reports, while fellow Democrats Jeff Miller and Michael Arcuri reported $5,000 and zero cash on hand, respectively. Two other Democratic contenders, teacher Bruce Tytler and attorney Leon Koziol, have launched campaigns but have not yet released fundraising data.”

This shift in positive away from Arcuri and towards Roberts is a troubling sign for Arcuri’s campaign, but good news for those of us Democrats in Oneida County who just want Arcuri to remain our District Attorney, and fulfill his promises to us.

It seems that after flirting with the idea of full-time campaigning, Michael Arcuri is returning to his work as District Attorney, letting his congressional campaign go slack.

Michael Arcuri’s small group of supporters now need to ask themselves the obvious and reasonable questions: Can the Arcuri for Congress campaign really compete on evenings and weekends. Is Michael Arcuri capable of giving the congressional campaign his full attention after putting in a full day’s work? How will Michael Arcuri be able to fend off the increasingly strong Les Roberts campaign, when Arcuri has to be at the office all day, taking care of his public obligations?

Has Michael Arcuri become exhausted from the effort of campaigning and working full time simultaneously? Has his local support been maxxed out? How will Arcuri manage to survive in the primary race for another five months, and then, if he’s lucky, go another two months more with the Republicans pummelling him down?