Kathy Hochul Secures Victory Over GOP in N.Y. Special Congressional Race
Watching a high-flying outfielder reach up and catch a long fly ball that would have been a home run is not uncommon in the middle of baseball season. That’s exactly how pundits are describing yesterday’s special election in New York’s 26th congressional district – Democrats snatched what should have been a Republican victory in the historically red district.
Kathy Hochul secured an upset victory over Republican Jane Corwin and independent Jack Davis by capturing a stronger than expected 47 percent of the vote, just three percentage points shy of a clear majority.
John McCain had a 6-percentage point victory in the same district in his 2008 general election loss to President Obama.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
The special election was necessary when former Rep. Chris Lee resigned after a shirtless photo of him was sent to a woman on Craigslist in early February.
Political strategists on both sides of the aisle are analyzing the results, not so much to rehash the race, but to determine the issues that will motivate voters in 2012.
They may have found an issue that will stick in Medicare vouchers.
Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin), the architect of a Medicare plan said, “Republicans cannot continue to make empty promises without enacting real reform.” Ryan has argued that “scare tactics” are distracting the country from the more pressing issues such as true Medicare reform.
There was another issue in the race that some Republican strategists are saying was the reason for yesterday’s loss. Jack Davis, a former Democrat ran as a third-party candidate and received substantial support from Tea party supporters.
Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus released a statement saying yesterday’s loss was due to Davis’ role as a third party candidate. In three prior races Davis had run as a Democrat and lost.
“Jane Corwin ran a strong campaign in spite of facing a Democrat and a Democrat posed as a Tea Party candidate, both of whom sought to distract from the central issues in the minds of voters: restoring our economy and creating jobs,” Preibus said in a statement.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi issued an opposing statement saying, “Kathy Hochul’s victory tonight is a tribute to Democrats’ commitment to preserve and strengthen Medicare, create jobs, and grow our economy. And it sends a clear message that will echo nationwide: Republicans will be held accountable for their vote to end Medicare.”
Other third party groups also played significant roles. Organizing for America, known as President Obama’s “grassroots army,” played a key part in the victory, according to Democratic sources. Over 20 phone banks making over 23,000 calls in the last 13 days were an important component to Hochul’s victory.
Special elections, those held outside of more traditional and scheduled election cycles, have proved difficult to predict due to such factors as lower voter turnout and a shorter campaign cycle.
"Special elections are special elections," said former Rep. Tom Reynolds, the former National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman who represented New York's 26th District until 2008. "When I was in the House, I would tell you I don't like special elections because they're unpredictable."
