BINGHAMTON, NY (WSKG) - Even with a primary loss, the son of long-time Binghamton area State Senator Tom Libous plans to be on the ballot in November.
That means the race between Nick Libous and primary winner Cliff Crouch will continue.
"Oh, I'm absolute going to run," Libous said Friday. He has the nomination of the Conservative Party and plans to run on that line.
Crouch won Thursday’s Republican primary in New York’s 122nd Assembly District with more than 70 percent of the vote. He has represented the district covering parts of Broome, Delaware, Otsego and Chenango counties since 1995.
Libous considers himself more of a "true" conservative. He called out local Republican leaders who chose to support Crouch in the primary. Before the election, Libous called Broome County Republican Chairman Bijoy Datta “one of the more dirty operatives in politics today, locally.”
“When you see the party rally so hard, when you see party bosses get behind a candidate, it’s a really tough wave to overcome,” Libous said.
In a statement after the Libous loss, Datta said “It's over. Tonight the Republican voters of the 122nd Assembly District spoke loudly and clearly in support of our great Assemblyman Cliff Crouch. His overwhelming victory with more than two-thirds of the vote is a testament to his proven record of accomplishments over the years."
Multiple calls to Datta and the Broome Republicans before the election were not returned.
Before the election, Crouch said his opponent needed to start with a lower office and gain experience. He also accused Libous of running on his father’s name. Libous said he’s not shying from his name, but is campaigning on his experience running a small business.
His father served in the state senate for nearly three decades and served for a time as deputy majority leader. Tom Libous left office in 2015 after he was convicted of lying to the FBI. The older Libous died while awaiting an appeal, so his conviction was vacated.