Schneiderman forgoes congressional run

Suffolk County Legislator Jay Schneiderman announced last week that, after several months of consideration, he will not try to unseat U.S. Representative Tim Bishop.

Mr. Schneiderman, an Independent and former supervisor of East Hampton Town who hails from Montauk, revealed earlier this year that he was exploring the possibility of making his first run for Congress.

But last week, Mr. Schneiderman, 48, announced in an e-mail to media outlets that he would not seek federal office this year, saying that he would not want to spend time in Washington D.C. away from his two young children, Ruben, 7, and Magdalena, 11.

In an interview on Tuesday, Mr. Schneiderman also said that a poll he commissioned in May showed that, while he has “strong support” in the 1st Congressional District, he would likely lose to Mr. Bishop in November.

“I don’t want to run and lose, and I don’t want to be a spoiler,” he said.

Mr. Bishop of Southampton, a Democrat, is seeking his fifth term in Congress. Challengers lining up for the Republican nomination include Chris Cox of Westhampton Beach, the grandson of Richard Nixon; former United States Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement attorney George Demos of Brookhaven; and businessman Randy Altschuler of St. James. They will likely face off in a primary in September.

Mr. Schneiderman said he probably would have run on the Independence Party line.

“One of the things I wanted to see was if an Independent could win—particularly one with a record,” he said.

In his statement last week, Mr. Schneiderman wrote: “Representing my region in Congress would be a great honor. I believe we need new voices, particularly independent ones—individuals who are not beholden to major parties or special interests. One of the great faults of our current system is that we are often forced to choose between two individuals, one from the far left and one from the far right.”

He said he paid a firm $4,200 in May to conduct a 28-question phone poll among residents of the 1st Congressional District, which spans from his hometown of Montauk to as far west as Stony Brook. About 400 registered voters responded, he said.

The results showed that, unless Mr. Schneiderman ran in a head-to-head race against Mr. Bishop, the incumbent would likely keep his seat, according to Mr. Schneiderman.

“My poll showed basically a neck-and-neck race right now, statistically a dead heat between Tim Bishop and myself, that was definitely breaking in my direction,” he said. “So I believe I would definitely prevail in a two-way race. But a two-way race was not going to happen.”

When told that Mr. Schneiderman would not challenge Mr. Bishop this year, Mr. Bishop’s campaign manager, Lisa Wieber, said only: “Thanks for letting us know.”

Mr. Schneiderman said his poll showed that in a three-way or four-way race, opposition to Mr. Bishop would be split and Mr. Bishop would likely win another term. However, if the race turns into a two-way heat between Mr. Bishop and a Republican, the incumbent could be in for the “fight of his life,” Mr. Schneiderman said.

A three-way race in November is still a possibility even after Mr. Schneiderman’s withdrawal, since Mr. Altschuler got the backing of the Suffolk County Conservative Party in April. On Wednesday, Rob Ryan, a spokesman for Mr. Altschuler, said that Mr. Altschuler is currently counting on uniting the Conservative and Republican parties behind him.

Mr. Schneiderman, who defected from the Republican Party in 2008, said that he did not seek the Republican endorsement because he was unlikely to win it.

“I’m too progressive in my social views that it would be difficult for me,” he said.

With Mr. Schneiderman’s announcement, the Independence Party of Suffolk County is left without a candidate for the time being. Chairman Frank MacKay said his party would be screening Mr. Bishop and the three Republican hopefuls this Friday with an announcement expected on Sunday.

Mr. Schneiderman has not endorsed a candidate yet, and said on Tuesday he would be meeting with Mr. Altschuler later this week, and other candidates in the future. He said will keep his current job as a Suffolk County Legislator representing the South Fork.