Tuesday was (and is) Election Day
And so it came to pass that the remaining votes in the CA-36 special election for Congress did not favor Debra Bowen; they actually increased the Republican candidate's lead over her. She has conceded. That means the 'jungle primary' resulted in no change in the outcome from what it would have been, all else being equal, had the Democratic and Republican primaries been separate.
Janice Hahn, the Democrat, and Craig Huey, the Republican, will now go at one another in the general election on July 12th, with Hahn expected to win handily in a significantly Democratic district.
But Tuesday is still election day! There is another special Congressional election in three days, this time in the district where I was born, NY-26. It's a Republican district in western New York but Kathy Hochul, the Democrat has surged in the polling to the point where the latest poll shows her leading the Republican, Jane Corwin, 42% - 38%. A third candidate, a former Democrat now Tea Party associated 'caucus with the Republicans' kind of guy who's considered half-crazy, one Jack Davis, was threatening to make this a three-way toss up not too long ago, but the same poll now shows him at only 12%.
Corwin got herself into trouble when her chief of staff (she's an NY State Assembly member) stalked Jack Davis and provoked the candidate into get into a skuffle with Corwin's aide (and no, I'm not making this up). Then she got into even more trouble by refusing to refudiate Paul Ryan's Medicare-to-vouchers plan.
Hochul has mostly stayed out of trouble by running attack ads against Corwin and by having a campaign website which has not a single position on any issue listed.
Once considered a backwater race that the Republicans would win easily, when it became apparent that Hochul had a chance big money started pouring in on both sides. Millions of dollars will have been spent on both sides by the time this is over -- ironically on a seat that may no longer exist in any recognizable form come 2012 because of redistricting and the fact that New York State is to lose two representatives.
Janice Hahn, the Democrat, and Craig Huey, the Republican, will now go at one another in the general election on July 12th, with Hahn expected to win handily in a significantly Democratic district.
But Tuesday is still election day! There is another special Congressional election in three days, this time in the district where I was born, NY-26. It's a Republican district in western New York but Kathy Hochul, the Democrat has surged in the polling to the point where the latest poll shows her leading the Republican, Jane Corwin, 42% - 38%. A third candidate, a former Democrat now Tea Party associated 'caucus with the Republicans' kind of guy who's considered half-crazy, one Jack Davis, was threatening to make this a three-way toss up not too long ago, but the same poll now shows him at only 12%.
Corwin got herself into trouble when her chief of staff (she's an NY State Assembly member) stalked Jack Davis and provoked the candidate into get into a skuffle with Corwin's aide (and no, I'm not making this up). Then she got into even more trouble by refusing to refudiate Paul Ryan's Medicare-to-vouchers plan.
Hochul has mostly stayed out of trouble by running attack ads against Corwin and by having a campaign website which has not a single position on any issue listed.
Once considered a backwater race that the Republicans would win easily, when it became apparent that Hochul had a chance big money started pouring in on both sides. Millions of dollars will have been spent on both sides by the time this is over -- ironically on a seat that may no longer exist in any recognizable form come 2012 because of redistricting and the fact that New York State is to lose two representatives.