Chris Gibson gets bumped to top tier in NRCC’s Young Guns program

By Sam Foster
Via Hotline On Call

The NRCC recently bumped 6 additional Republican challengers to the top tier of their campaign program "Young Guns."  Chris Gibson, running against incumbent Scott Murphy for NY's 20^th Congressional District was among them.  Mr. Gibson's name brings the top tier total up to 52 candidates.

Hotline On Call reports:

The candidates are state Rep. Sandy Adams (R) in FL-24, surgeon Dan Benishek (R) in MI-01, ret. Army Col. Chris Gibson (R) in NY-20, auto dealer Mike Kelly (R) in PA-03, funeral homes owner Steve Southerland in FL-02 (R) and ex-state Sen. Daniel Webster (R) in FL-08.

If there's a surprise on the list, it's Gibson, who came out of nowhere to post an extremely strong second quarter fundraising haul. He represents the GOP's top shot at avenging the special election loss last year when Kristin Gillilbrand (D) was appointed to the Senate. Gibson is at a CoH disadvantage to Rep. Scott Murphy (D), though, having $452K to Murphy's $1.3M. A conservative American Action Forum poll released last week showed Murphy holding a 45% to 40% lead.

Gibson's campaign released the following statement upon receiving the news:

Chris Gibson's campaign for Congress continues to build on its momentum heading into the 60 day sprint to Election Day on November 2nd.  In addition to the upgrades this month to "Toss Up" ratings from the New York Times and Real Clear Politics, a third party poll showing Gibson within the margin of error and a strong first debate contrasting his views with the incumbent, the campaign is ending August as a recognized top tier challenger in the National Republican Congressional Committee's (NRCC) Young Guns program.
 
"By moving us from 'Contender' to their top tier 'Young Gun' status, the NRCC has recognized that our campaign has the support and momentum necessary to win this race.  This is a signal of their confidence in our campaign," said Gibson. "This means that our campaign has proven we can be competitive. Our message of reducing spending, cutting taxes and reducing the size of government is a great contrast to my opponent's voting record of continually expanding the size and scope of government. Washington is broken and people all across the ten counties of the 20th Congressional District are looking for new leadership to work on reigning in government and helping get our economy back on track.  I look forward to continuing to earn the voters' trust and support so we can work together to renew the private sector job growth and opportunities possible in America."

Another notable candidate bump included Daniel Webster running to unseat the despicable Alan Grayson in FL's 8^th CD.