Tedisco resigns as minority leader

Tedisco resigns. It this a sign of confidence or did he have no choice?

In what can be interpreted as a sign of great confidence, Jim Tedisco has announced his resignation as minority leader of the New York State Assembly. The announcement came shortly after Tedisco said he would stay in office until the election results were officially announced.

Although the move could be interpreted as Tedisco believing he has won the race, the New York Times reports it is likely that his fellow Republicans forced him to step down. Why? Well, they do not like Tedisco very much, or so the liberal newspaper says, and they are, how could it be different, extremely ambitious themselves. They do not like it that Tedisco played safe: when you run for the U.S. Congress, give up your role as State Assembly minority leader, they say. Especially because, they believe, Tedisco did not have time to help them and their party in the state.

Obviously, both interpretations could be partially right. Perhaps Tedisco is confident – and for good reason: he and Scott Murphy are tied in the recount now. Absentee ballots still have to be counted, and more Republicans than Democrats requested such a ballot.

On the other hand, politicians are ambitious and it is understandable that some Republicans feel Tedisco did not defend their interests well enough in the last couple of months.

So – yes, a combination of both interpretations is possible, perhaps even likely.