David Bellavia
David Bellavia was a 2012 Republican and Conservative Party candidate who sought election to the U.S. House to represent the 27th Congressional District of New York. He lost in the primary.[1]
Bellavia is an Iraq War veteran and Tea Party activist.[2]
Elections
2012
Bellavia ran in the 2012 election for the U.S. House to represent New York's 27th District. He sought the nomination on the Republican ticket[3] and lost to Chris Collins in the primary on June 26, 2012.[1]
Bellavia and Chris Collins contended in the June 26 Republican primary to see who would face incumbent Kathy Hochul (D) in the general election. With redistricting reforming Hochul's territory to favor Republicans,[2] the Republican nominee had a serious shot at winning in November.
Bellavia is an Iraq War veteran and Tea Party activist, and Collins is a former county legislator.[2] Bellavia sought to win as a more conservative candidate than Collins. He pointed out that the former Erie County Executive praised incoming federal stimulus funding when he was in office.[4] Collins, however, did receive the Conservative Party endorsement. State Party Chairman Michael Long commented: "He had a proven record.... Collins would be more competitive against the congresswoman."[5]
According to the Buffalo News, Bellavia was the underdog and rarely recognized by Collins.[6] Bellavia, who wrote a book and subsequently sold the movie rights about his experiences in Iraq, said in taking on Collins he took on the "Erie County (political) machine."[6]
Both candidates were largely self-funded, with Collins self-funding $250,000 and Bellavia $45,000. Reports also show that Collins raised another $5,750, and Bellavia raised $50,000 in addition to his own contribution.[7]
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
 Chris Collins |
59.2% | 10,886 |
| David Bellavia | 40.8% | 7,491 |
| Total Votes | 18,377 | |
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for "David + Bellavia + New York + House"
- All stories may not be relevant to this legislator due to the nature of the search engine.
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 AP/CSPAN, "New York-Summary Vote Report," June 26, 2012
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedred - ↑ New York Board of Elections, "Filings for June 26, 2012 Federal Primary," accessed June 11, 2012
- ↑ The Batavian, "Bellavia knocks Collins for seeking funds from Obama's stimulus package," June 20, 2012
- ↑ US News, "In New York 27th, a Fierce GOP Congressional Primary Rages," May 30, 2012
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Buffalo News, "Battle-tested underdog David Bellavia is on a mission," June 19, 2012
- ↑ Buffalo News, "Bellavia, Collins, largely self-financed," June 16, 2012
