Incumbent	Dan Maffei
Party	Democratic
Seeking Re-election?	Yes
Candidate Website	House Website Campaign Website
Other Resources	Congresspedia profile on Dan Maffei

2008 Presidential Vote	Obama - % McCain - %
2008 Election Margin	Maffei - % Sweetland - %
Voter Registration	As at 4/1/08 Dem - 138,386 (32.46%) Rep - 151,085 (35.44%) Other - 136,845 (32.10%)
District Blog(s)	The Walsh Watch

Potential Challenger	Dale Sweetland
Party	Republican
Source of Information	2008 Candidate
Candidate Website	Campaign Website

Potential Challenger	Howie Hawkins
Party	Green/Socialist
Source of Information	2008 Candidate
Candidate Website	Campaign Website

Potential Challenger
Party
Source of Information
Candidate Website

Potential Challenger
Party
Source of Information
Candidate Website

Background InformationNew York's 25th Congressional District largely encompasses the greater Syracuse region, as well as rural Wayne County and portions of Cayuga and Monroe Counties. The district has been represented by Republican James Walsh ever since 1988.

Since Walsh's first election, the 25th District has seen a great shift towards the Democratic Party, as historically Republican Onondaga County (Syracuse) has been in the process of realignment ever since Bill Clinton carried the county in 1992.

Even despite the continuing leftward drift in Onondaga County, Walsh has been aided by the continued heavy Republican presence in Cayuga and Wayne Counties, which both gave him the necessary margin he needed to survive his challenge in 2006 by Democrat Dan Maffei.

2008

Because John Kerry carried the 25th district in 2004, and Walsh barely survived the 2006 cycle, despite being a well-entrenched incumbent with a powerful position on the House Appropriations Committee, this district is sure to be a top target for the Democrats again in 2008. Indeed, a news article appearing in the Syracuse Post-Standard on the day Maffei announced his rematch cited a DCCC regional press secretary as saying that the organization would target the district early for the 2008 cycle.