The Republican primary for a northern New York congressional seat features a self-funded businessman digging deeper into his personal fortune and a former Washington political staffer getting financial help from major conservative backers.
With incumbent Democrat Bill Owens deciding not to seek re-election, Republicans are hoping to recapture a district that had been a Republican stronghold for years.
Investment manager Matthew Doheny of Watertown has failed twice to take the 21st District seat, narrowly losing to Owens.
Doheny is challenging Elise Stefanik of Willsboro in Tuesday's primary. She is a Harvard graduate who worked on President George W. Bush's staff and the national campaigns of former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty and Congressman Paul Ryan.
The Democratic nominee is Aaron Woolf, a documentary filmmaker and political novice.
The district sprawls across 16,000 square miles of northern New York.
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