Republicans manage to find common ground on hopefuls

SUGAR LOAF — John Hicks voted for Mitt Romney. Steve Neuhaus and Kieran Lalor have been John McCain guys since he ran for president in 2000. Robert Klein backed Ron Paul.

They managed to find common GOP ground as the primary results scrolled across the TV last night at Amarone's in Sugar Loaf, tuned to the Fox News Channel.

"Here's New York. McCain's got it," announced Neuhaus, supervisor of the Town of Chester. He immediately turned his attention to an upcoming special election for a state Senate seat upstate, explaining that there was work to be done on elections closer to home.

Lalor lives in Peekskill, was raised in Dutchess County and is challenging freshman Democrat John Hall in the 19th Congressional District. Orange County's a big part of that district, and Lalor, a former social studies teacher and a Marine Corps veteran of the Iraq war, sees McCain as the epitome of "commander in chief."

He's not wild about McCain's stance on immigration, but says it would be appropriate to have a Vietnam veteran as president.

Hicks, a former Orange County GOP chairman who talks politics on his radio show on WTBQ-AM, said he'll have no trouble voting for McCain in November, despite his vote for Romney yesterday.

Klein, a CPA from Chester, also said he'll be fine with voting for McCain. "Sometimes," he said of Paul, "you support certain people because they bring out discussion of issues."

omackson@th-record.com