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*SIGH* Democrats Chalk Up Another Win.
Posted by: Election Sweeps ()
Date: April 24, 2009 05:11PM

Republicans lose yet again.

Man, it's hard being perfect.

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Democrat Murphy wins House race after concession

ALBANY, N.Y. – Almost a month after a special election that focused attention on President Barack Obama's stimulus plan, the Republican candidate bowed out on Friday, handing Scott Murphy the third straight win for a Democrat in New York's heavily Republican 20th Congressional District.

After the March 31 election, the two were separated by only a handful of votes with thousands of absentee ballots to be counted. For nearly four weeks, the lead flipped back and forth but Murphy's advantage started to grow this week and was more than 400 votes on Thursday.

Murphy is a venture capitalist multimillionaire from Missouri who has lived in New York for more than a decade. He was an aide to Missouri governors Mel Carnahan and Roger Wilson.

"I can't wait to get to work," Murphy said in a written statement. He planned an event for Friday evening.

In a statement, Republican candidate Jim Tedisco congratulated Murphy and said he'd work with him in his role as a state assemblyman.

"It became clear that the numbers were not going our way and that the time had come to step aside and ensure that the next Congressman be seated as quickly as possible," he said in the written statement. "In the interest of the citizens of the 20th Congressional district and our nation, I wish Scott the very best."

Obama's policies came up for both candidates on the campaign trail, particularly the $787 billion stimulus plan. Tedisco had attacked Murphy for supporting the plan, while Murphy criticized Tedisco for refusing to take a stance on the stimulus for most of the campaign, a misstep that ultimately hurt the veteran assemblyman.

"Scott Murphy's long-awaited victory is proof positive that Americans, even in this heavily Republican district, support the president and want him to succeed and the result is a repudiation of the failed policies of the past touted by Republicans," said Tim Kaine, chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

The diverse district stretches from the rural Adirondack Mountains, south of the Canadian border, to the mid-Hudson Valley, north of New York City. It has more than 196,000 registered Republicans compared to about 125,000 Democrats.

Murphy replaces Kirsten Gillibrand, who succeeded Hillary Rodham Clinton in the U.S. Senate after Clinton was chosen to be Obama's secretary of state.

Nationwide, Republicans have taken a pounding in the past two election cycles and in New York, the pain has been acute. They lost three congressional seats in 2006 and three more last year, leaving just three Republicans in the 29-seat state delegation. They also lost the state Senate for the first time in four decades last November, and every statewide elected office is held by a Democrat.

Early on, Republican Party Chairman Michael Steele declared the 20th a top priority for 2009. For Republicans, victory would have given them a claim in the heavily Democratic Northeast.

Still, National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Pete Sessions described the race as a symbolic victory for Republicans.

"We should not ignore some of the encouraging signs that came out of this race," Sessions said in a written statement. "Just a few short months ago, President Obama carried this district and Kirsten Gillibrand won by an overwhelming margin against a well-funded challenger. For the first time in a long time, a Republican congressional candidate went toe-to-toe with a Democrat in a hard-fought battle over independent voters."

Democrats didn't waste any time celebrating and congratulating Murphy.

"Murphy fought through a tough race and showed the kind of tenacity and commitment to public service that will serve him and his constituents well in the Congress," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said in a statement.

Gillibrand and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Chris Van Hollen echoed the congratulations.
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