Chris Callaghan looks forward to crowded press conferences.Courtesy of Callaghan for New York

J. Christopher Callaghan is driving his '99 Honda Civic east on the thruway right now and talking (through an earpiece, of course) about something that never seemed possible for his Cinderella campaign for state comptroller: a television ad!

"I'm feeling greeeat!" he says. "Cable is within financial reach. I think we can make that happen."

Yesterday, editorial boards pounced on an ethics report that found Alan Hevesi's use of a chauffeur for his wife and his failure to properly reimburse his office unlawful. Today, GOP operatives at the New York Republican State Committee frantically began making calls to raise money for Callaghan and cut his bare-bones campaign a $25,000 check.

"The ethics ruling changes everything," says Ryan Moses, the committee's executive director, who's also planned a Monday fund-raiser for Callaghan. "We're not gonna leave a stone unturned when it comes to this race."

The $25,000 check is big money for Callaghan. As of today, Callaghan says his campaign has a measly $10,000 on hand — money he claims is already committed. (Hevesi reported about $5.9 million in funds to the New York State Board of Elections earlier this month.)

And Callaghan's got a long way to go to get on air — even in small markets. Political strategists estimate any legitimate television campaign could cost $1 million bucks, give or take. "Having $25,000 in the New York market around Election Day is like taking a nickel and dumping it in the Pacific Ocean and hoping you can find it a month later," says Dem consultant Hank Sheinkopf. "Could he do it? Sure. He could produce it on cardboard and Ogdensburg [a city near the Canadian border, pop. 12,364] could watch it like twelve, fifteen times."

— Geoffrey Gray

Don't Count Him Out [NYM]