DNC Chair Tim Kaine issued the following statement after Democrat
Scott Murphy won the
raw vote (77,344-77,279) over Republican James Tedisco in last night's special election (to replace Kirsten Gillibrand, who replaced Hillary Clinton in the U.S. Senate) in New York’s 20th Congressional District.
Scott Murphy embraced President Obama's message of change and his plans to fix our economy and create jobs, and as a result he stormed from more than 20 points down to winning a majority of votes cast tonight. Scott's performance tonight in an overwhelmingly Republican district, where Republicans enjoy a registration advantage over Democrats of more than 70,000, represents a repudiation of the failed politics and policies that Republicans continue to embrace. We are confident that when all the ballots are counted, Scott will expand his lead and become an ally to President Obama in Congress who will help the President create jobs and turn our economy around.
This race may not be called for a while, according to the
New York Times:
...10,055 absentee ballots were issued — and 5,907 received so far, state election officials said — meaning the election cannot be decided until the paper ballots are counted. Moreover, it is likely that the count may not begin until at least April 6, said Bob Brehm, a spokesman for the State Board of Elections.
If Murphy ultimately wins this race, it will be another blow to Republicans, who are trying desperately to regain their footing after getting pounded in 2006 and 2008. The other place they'll be trying to do that this year, of course, is right here in Virginia. Let's make sure we don't let them start gaining any traction.
