Ziegler out as Gibson campaign manager

PHOTOGRAPHER: David Lombardo

Patrick Ziegler is out as the campaign manager for Republican Chris Gibson’s campaign to replace incumbent Democrat Scott Murphy in the 20th Congressional District.

Ziegler will be working for the Republican National Committee at one of their “Victory Committees,” where he will be overseeing and coordinating efforts in eastern New York, according to Gibson campaign spokesman Dan Odescalchi.

In April, Ziegler began working for the Gibson campaign after ending his own attempt to secure the Republican nomination.

Odescalchi said that the RNC wanted to recruit the best person for the position, citing Ziegler’s work with the Mike Huckabee campaign in 2008, his knowledge of the district and relationships with volunteers as examples of his credentials.

“We welcomed it,” said Odescalchi.

In preparation to fill the void created by Ziegler leaving, a replacement team of Odescalchi, Bill Teator and others in the campaign has been assembled. “There was a team put in place before he left,” said Odescalchi.

On Sept. 17, a poll from the Siena Research Institute was released that showed Gibson trailing Murphy by 17 points. Odescalchi said the poll had no impact on the change in the Gibson campaign.

“He took [the] position before that came out,” said Odescalchi.