Republicans Could Be Poised to Pick Up Upstate New York Gillibrand House Seat

By Michael Barone, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

Gary Andres in the Weekly Standard's blog describes the campaigning in the special election to replace appointed Sen. Kisten Gillibrand in New York's 20th congressional district. A Siena Poll shows Republican Jim Tedisco 12 percent ahead of Democrat Scott Murphy. This could well be a Republican pickup, though its national implications are limited, for three reasons. (1) It's a Republican-leaning district. Gillibrand won in 2006 only because of late-breaking scandal news about the Republican incumbent. (2) Out parties often win special House elections in the first year of an administration. (3) Tedisco is a well-known politician in metro Albany, which includes most of the district, while Murphy has some tax problems.

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