BUFFALO, N.Y., May 21 (UPI) -- Erie County Comptroller Nancy Naples is the choice of New York Republicans hoping to keep the seat of retiring U.S. Rep. Jack Quinn.
Quinn, a popular Republican with strong ties to organized labor, shocked the district last month when he announced he would not seek a seventh term in Congress.
Naples, a former Wall Street banker, is in her third four-year term as Erie County comptroller. She emerged Thursday as the party's only candidate when nightclub owner Richard Snowden announced he would not make the race.
New York's 27th Congressional District runs south from Buffalo to the Pennsylvania boarder, following a path along the coast of Lake Erie. The post-2000 redistricting made it more Republican, but the voter registration figures show the Democrats still hold a substantial edge.
Former Vice President Al Gore carried the seat in the 2000 presidential contest, winning 53 percent of the vote against 41 percent to George W. Bush.
