Former president Bill Clinton was in the capital region early Monday morning rallying a crowd of supporters inside Hall of Springs in Saratoga Spa State Park. Clinton is trying to get the vote out for 20th Congressional District candidate Scott Murphy. The Democrat is in the middle of a tight race with Republican Chris Gibson. The last Siena Research Institute poll gave Gibson a nine point edge over Murphy.
Tickets for the event were free but limited. They were reportedly gone three days before Mr. Clinton showed up. The Times Union is reporting that Clinton revved up the crowd with this:
“This is not about right and left. This is about tomorrow versus yesterday. ”
While the Murphy rally was taking place, Gibson was on a local radio station reaching out to his supporters. Gibson spent an hour on the radio talking about his background and his ideas to create jobs.
To do that, Gibson is supporting Bush-era tax cuts, according to the Post Star. Gibson has denied assertions that he wants to privatize Social Security, saying that his grandmother is in the system and he wouldn’t want to hurt her.
Both Gibson and Murphy have plans to revitalize the upstate economy. Gibson says on his website he wants to lower taxes, streamline regulations and lower health care costs.
Murphy has put together a blueprint to renew the upstate economy. His plan, posted on his website, calls for improvements in infrastructure, education, energy and small business and agriculture.
The 20th Congressional district is mostly rural. There are 10 upstate counties in the district including Saratoga and Rensselaer.
