Kathllen Hochul Beats GOP in New York 26th

OMG! Kathleen C. Hochul (pictured at right) - initially the Democrat underdog in the special election for New York State's 26th Congressional district - has beat the GOP candidate by a 6% margin of victory. The shock waves throughout the GOP will be delicious to watch. The usual talking heads will no doubt be in overdrive as well. Hubris and fantasies of having a mandate are the GOP's undoing time after time. As a native of Central New York - about 150 miles from Buffalo - Upstate New Yorkers tend to be often much more conservative than those down state, but they are typically not freaking crazy. What plays well in the Bible Belt will not necessarily play well in upstate New York. Here are highlights from the Buffalo News:
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Kathleen Courtney Hochul, the Erie County clerk and longtime Democratic figure who defied political experts who had given her little chance of success, ground out a stunning and surprisingly comfortable victory Tuesday in the special election for the House seat in the predominantly Republican 26th Congressional District.
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Hochul was leading Republican Jane L. Corwin, a Clarence assemblywoman, 48 to 42 percent, with 87 percent of election districts reporting, while the Tea Party's Jack Davis mustered only 9 percent in his fourth try for the seat. Ian L. Murphy of the Green Party recorded 1 percent. In the 10 p.m. hour, Corwin conceded the race in a speech to supporters.
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[T]he race seemed to always boil down to two factors -- the strong Davis candidacy and a brouhaha over the "Ryan budget" and its Medicare implications.
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The New York Times also has coverage. Here are some highlights and a bit more analysis:
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Democrats scored an upset in one of New York’s most conservative Congressional districts on Tuesday, dealing a blow to the national Republican Party in a race that largely turned on the party’s plan to overhaul Medicare.
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The results set off elation among Democrats and soul-searching among Republicans, who questioned whether the party should rethink its commitment to the Medicare plan, which appears to have become a liability as 2012 elections loom. Two months ago, the Democrat, Kathy Hochul, was considered an all-but-certain loser in the race.
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Voters, who turned out in strikingly large numbers for a special election, said they trusted Ms. Hochul, the county clerk of Erie County, to protect Medicare. “I have almost always voted the party line,” said Gloria Bolender, a Republican from Clarence who is caring for her 80-year-old mother. “This is the second time in my life I’ve voted against my party.” Pat Gillick, a Republican from East Amherst, who also cast a ballot for Ms. Hochul, said, “The privatization of Medicare scares me.”
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The district, which stretches from Buffalo to Rochester, has been in Republican hands for four decades . . . Top Republicans, including House Speaker John A. Boehner of Ohio and the majority leader, Eric Cantor of Virginia, traveled to the district to provide support to Ms. Corwin. At the same time, the national party and its allies, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a group tied to the Republican strategist Karl Rove, jumped in, spending at least $1.1 million on radio and television ads supporting Ms. Corwin.
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One Buffalo News reader seems to have summed up the race:
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It appears that the Republican plan to rob the poor, the elderly, and the middle-class of hope is imploding the GOP. Republicans held this seat almost exclusively since 1857 until now... Congratulations Kathy Hochul.