NY-13: Constituents don't want Fossella to resign...but the media do

On the heels of the fascinating drunken Vito Fossella love-child scandal (if you can come up with a pithy little term for this scandal, please do, we sure could use one), SurveyUSA has polled NY-13, and finds that voters, by and large, think Fossella should not resign. Voters are mixed on whether he should run for reelection, with Democrats generally feeling he should not, Republicans feeling that he should.

61% of adults from New York’s 13th Congressional District say their U.S. Representative, Republican Vito Fossella, should remain in office, according to an exclusive SurveyUSA poll conducted for WABC-TV in New York. 32% say Fossella should resign.

Both Republicans and Democrats say Fossella should stay put: 66% of Republicans and 55% of Democrats say he should remain in office.

...

Asked if Fossella should run for re-election in the fall, however, numbers shift somewhat: overall, 53% say he should seek re-election; 42% say he should not. Republicans say he should run by a margin of nearly 2-1; Democrats are divided equally on the question. Fully crosstabbed results of the poll are here.

However, Phillip at The Albany Project notes that the local media is adamant that Fossella should resign. From the New York Post:

That Fossella betrayed his wife and family is between him and them. But his betrayal of his constituents was only marginally less egregious.

Vito Fossella needs to just go away.

Now.

The Staten Island Advance and New York Daily News concur.

Whether or not Fossella resigns immediately, he will have a difficult time seeking reelection this fall. He is likely to spend time in jail, and should he seek reelection, he should face a stiff challenge both in the primary and general election.

Apparently, the national GOP doesn't want him around a minute longer, and it's rumored he may retire within 72 hours:

Several top New York Republicans said that Congressman Vito Fossella's resignation will come within the next 72 hours -- if not late Friday then certainly by Monday.

There was political concern about how best to preserve the seat for the Republicans -- questions about immediate resignation versus finishing out his term and retiring -- but the calculation is there's nothing to be gained from Fossella sticking around. While Staten Island Republicans believe Fossella could at least serve out his term (the rest of the year) national Republicans want him gone. Now.

Race tracker wiki: NY-13