Donovan successfully fought off or beat off Grimm

Donovan banks on Trump — and overwhelms Grimm

By LAURA NAHMIAS

Maybe Donald Trump’s endorsement counts for something in New York after all — at least on Staten Island.

Incumbent Rep. Dan Donovan successfully fought off a challenge on Tuesday from the Republican who held his seat before him — former Rep. Michael Grimm, a charismatic, mercurial ex-Marine who resigned in disgrace in 2015 after pleading guilty to felony tax fraud in federal court. Donovan is leading his challenger by nearly 30 points.

How did he do it? In recent months, Donovan sharpened his language on immigration, proposed a bill to require a portrait of Donald Trump in U.S. post offices, and took pains to highlight areas where he agrees with the president, as he and Grimm both sought the coveted presidential endorsement in a district where Trump has high approval ratings from Republican voters.

The strategy marked a significant shift in tone if not in action for the moderate, even-keeled congressman — Donovan held his nose when he voted for Trump in 2016, calling the president an “imperfect choice” after the “Access Hollywood” tape was released shortly before the November election. Still, he’s voted in line with the president’s position roughly 85 percent of the time since he took office.

Trump’s attorney, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, held a fundraiser for Donovan earlier this month and on the eve of the election, Donald Trump, Jr. recorded a robocall on Donovan’s behalf that went out to voters across the district.

But the president’s imprimatur, which was the only direct action the president himself took on Donovan’s behalf, may have helped put the incumbent over the edge in a race that became a contest over which man was closest to the president.

The district, which includes all of Staten Island and parts of southern Brooklyn, was the only one in New York City that went for Trump over Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election.

Donovan also has the backing of the National and local Republican and conservative establishment, which poured money into the race on his behalf in the waning weeks of the campaign, spending $1 million on independent expenditures in support of his candidacy. Donovan vastly outraised Grimm — pulling in $1.6 million compared to Grimm’s roughly $440,000. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce was able to spend roughly $350,000 on television ads in the final weeks of the campaign, and pay for the door knocks and get-out-the-vote efforts that may have made the difference in the race.

Personality wasn’t enough to overcome practicality. A NY1/Siena poll taken in late May, the only nonpartisan poll taken in the race, showed that despite voters' overwhelming belief that Grimm would work better with the president than Donovan, a majority believed Donovan was better equipped to beat a Democrat in the November elections.

Michael Vinci voted a little before 7 p.m. in Grant City on Staten Island, and said that while he likes Grimm personally, he didn't think he could win against a Democrat in a general election.

“I voted for Dan Donovan just because of what happened with Michael Grimm and the conviction, even though I don’t agree with what happened to him. He’s just not as electable as Donovan would be," Vinci told POLITICO.

Vinci said the president's endorsement of Donovan made the difference.

"Yeah, that definitely pushed me over the edge. I was very on the fence.”

It’s too early to know where Donovan’s biggest bases of support were in the district, but political observers suggested the often overlooked slice of the seat in southern Brooklyn, home to tens of thousands of voters, may have helped put Donovan over the edge. The area didn’t take the brunt of Hurricane Sandy’s impact the way the Island did. Grimm’s support afterward for the victims had far less impact on their lives.

Grimm conceded quickly Tuesday evening and pledged to support Dan Donovan in November against Democrat Max Rose