It’s not too encouraging to be a Republican these days, especially if you’re running in heavy democratic electoral areas. While Republican mayoral candidate is lagging in the polls amid Bill de Blasio’s post-primary bounce and a registration disadvantage, national backlash over the shutdown threatens to further complicate Mr. Lhota’s task of closing a 50-point gap in less than 30 days to Election Day.

To start off with, Mr. Lhota has no big-name national surrogates to campaign for him or to fundraise, as Newsday reports. “You only have a limited amount of resources if you’re a New York City Republican. You don’t want Ted Cruz putting a TV ad for you in New York,” Tom Doherty, a onetime top aide to former Gov. George Pataki and now a GOP strategist, told Newsday.

Extensive media coverage of the shutdown further hurts Lhota, experts said. “That’s a challenge right now for any Republican who runs for City Hall, because I think the other side will connect the dots and say, ‘He’s one of them,’ ” said Vito Fossella, the former Staten Island Republican congressman.

Mr. Lhota’s frustration was evident in a CNBC interview Friday. “I’m being burdened by what the crazy part of the Republican Party is doing in Washington,” he said. “There’s a spillover effect. I’ve separated myself as much as I can.”

(Jacob Kornbluh – YWN)