Father To Face Election Challenge From Son In Fossella Seat

If things weren’t already bad enough for the Republican party’s chances to hold onto scandal-tarred Rep. Vito Fossella’s (R-N.Y.) Staten Island seat, they took a bizarre turn for the worse today.

Francis Powers, the son of the likely Republican nominee Frank Powers, is now planning to run against his dad on the Libertarian party ticket, according to the Staten Island Advance.

Frank Powers (the dad) is seeking to succeed Fossella, whose own family problems have been well-documented in recent weeks.

Francis Powers, a 47-year old carpenter who shares the same name as his dad, said that his candidacy is “not a vendetta against his father” -- but it’s clear there’s not a lot of love between the two.

"I'm not going to say that my dad treated me bad when I was a kid," the younger Powers told the paper. "I know his policies. I'm running against someone I know."  Powers added that he may run for the Anarchist party line if he fails to secure the Libertarian party's nomination.

Frank Powers, in a statement released by his campaign, said that he has “tried very hard for many years to help my son.”

"Unfortunately, he's rejected everyone's help to live a healthy lifestyle. Regardless of whether he wants to run for Congress, I still stand ready to help him move his life in a positive direction,” Frank Powers said.

Frank Powers came out of nowhere to win the endorsement from the Staten Island Republican party last week. A first-time candidate, he became the consensus GOP choice after other leading elected officials from the district turned down the opportunity to run for the seat.

Meanwhile, Democrats managed to land a leading recruits -- city councilman Mike McMahon -- to run for the seat.  The district has been held by Republicans since 1980, but Democrats are eyeing it as one of their top pickup opportunities.