OGDENSBURG, New York (WWNY) – Duffy is not done yet.
Susan Duffy, the St. Lawrence County businesswoman who lost a Republican primary for state Assembly back in June, told a crowd of about 30 supporters Thursday that she is still in the race.
“I repeatedly said I will see this through to the finish line, and I am a person of my word,” she said. She’ll run on the Conservative Party line.
Duffy lost the Republican primary for the 116th “River” district, which takes in the towns that border Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River in Jefferson and St. Lawrence counties. She lost to Jefferson County businessman and county legislator Scott Gray.
But Thursday, Duffy argued Gray’s win wasn’t much of a win, and her loss was barely a loss.
“My entire campaign has been issue driven. My opponent has been running a vanity campaign, posing for pictures, taking credit for projects across St. Lawrence County he had little if any involvement in, and avoiding issues at all costs.”
And she again pressed Gray to debate her, saying she is organizing “town halls” at which she will answer questions, and invited Gray to participate. She also said she’s willing to attend any town halls Gray organizes.
“In my phone call to Mr. Gray to congratulate him on his win for the primary race and informed him I was staying in the race, I again asked him to debate me before the general election. His answer to me was ‘Well, if it looks like we’re close, we’ll poll and then I’ll decide.’ That’s not the answer we need. We need to know who each other is individually,” she said.
In response, Gray told 7 News “I will continue to focus on the voters and how best to serve them when elected.”
As for a debate, Gray said he favors an in-studio debate at WWNY as the “best option,” to “allow everyone across the district to view.”
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