Conservative Party leader endorses Maragos

The Conservative Party's New York president has endorsed George Maragos, one of the Republicans gunning for U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand's seat.

Gillibrand is up for election (again) this year. The Democrat has two GOP challengers at this point: Maragos and Marc Cenedella.

Here's the official statement from David F. Bodamer:

"We feel that the same qualities that have made Mr. Maragos successful in his professional and personal life will continue to lead him to success in the Senate. Where he stands on political and social issues makes him the clear choice over Sen. Gillibrand. It is time for us to take back our state and to no longer accept the liberal mentality that has been doing nothing more than making us another California. We are in bad shape and we need Mr. Maragos to help us heal New York."

Maragos currently serves as Nassau County comptroller. He said in a statement that he was "deeply honored" to get Bodamer's endorsement.

"Gillibrand is obviously not doing the job for New Yorkers, for our middle class families or for the unemployed," he said. "She consistently votes against the best interests of New York and its citizens. Her votes not to raise the debt ceiling would have hurt seniors by stopping Social Security and Medicare. Her vote in support of ObamaCare is costing the middle class and small businesses many thousands of dollars and her vote to pass the Dodd-Frank Bill has destroyed over 200,000 good paying financial jobs in 2011 alone, according to the New York Times. She has failed to address the decline in our children’s education, while school costs continue to rise to unaffordable levels. And let's not forget that she has done nothing to alleviate the housing crisis, which she was partly responsible for creating when she worked at the HUD. Gillibrand has also failed to address the high cost of gasoline and home heating fuel by refusing to support a sound energy policy – one not dependent on foreign oil. What’s worse is that Gillibrand has done nothing meaningful to assist our upstate farmers and small businesses."