Posts Tagged NY-20
NY-20: Scott Murphy Leads by 273 Votes
Posted by jaren in 2009 Elections on April 18th, 2009
As if the controversy in the state of Minnesota was not bothersome enough, now it seems we can hardly determine the winner in a semi-rural New York House district. According to MSNBC, Democrat Scott Murphy is leading Republican Jim Tedisco by 273 votes. Hundreds of votes remain to be counted as challenged by Tedisco, but as of now it is looking pretty good for Scott Murphy.
NY-20: Murphy leads Tedisco; but by how many votes?
Posted by Devin in 2009 Elections on April 2nd, 2009
At the end of the night, everybody agreed that Scott Murphy (D) was just ahead of James Tedisco by 85 votes. Since, there have been a number of contradictory reports–all maintaining that the lead is dwindling–but with frequently changing leads.
Scorecard, Politico’s election blog, has changing numbers for instance. First, it was down to 25, but then citing a “high-level GOP” source, the lead had shrank to 13 votes–but then acknowledged the official AP count as Murphy leading Tedisco by 25. The same article says an anonymous Democrat pegs the magic number at 30.
Now, it’s only a couple votes either way, but obviously each vote is going to count. For now, based on consensus (several political blogs, including Taegan Goddard at CQ and First Read) are citing the Albany Times-Union’s number:
25.
Scott Murphy (D) Speaking at Election Party
Posted by Jay in 2009 Elections on March 31st, 2009
Scott Murphy’s campaign is upbeat declaring that they won; though they acknowledge that the results are still being counted due to how close the numbers were tonight. The speech developed around two main ideas. The first is Murphy’s focus on creating jobs in upstate NY. The second is supporting Obama’s plans and how this election reflects the support for Obama.
NY-20: Murphy wire-thin lead over Tedisco; too close to call?
Posted by Devin in 2009 Elections on March 31st, 2009
With one precinct still out (in Jim Tedisco’s base county of Saratoga), the results:
Scott Murphy (D): 77,208
James Tedisco (R): 77, 127
With the race within a hundred votes and only one precinct left, the absentee ballots will obviously have a lot of weight in the outcome of this race. As mentioned earlier by The Daily Horse Race, as of yesterday, there were 5,907 absentee ballots. It is unclear how many of these will be counted tonight or how many come from where.
NY-20: Polls closed: Tedisco, Murphy results here
Posted by Devin in 2009 Elections on March 31st, 2009
Polls are closed in the New York 20th Congressional District special election. Many people are looking for results. Go to timesunion.com, or the Albany Times Union for the latest results.
Another place to view up-to-date results, as the Albany Times Union site is down.
Murphy (D): 76,573
Tedisco (R): 76,321
Updated 10:17pm EST. Remember those 5,907 absentee ballots we mentioned earlier? Wow. Only 3 precincts out now.
Murphy (D): 73,421
Tedisco (R): 73,523
Updated 10:11pm EST. Two counties still need reporting: Columbia, where Murphy leads, and Saratoga, where Tedisco leads. Eight precincts out in Columbia, while fourteen are out in Saratoga.
Just an observation: as of 10:03pm EST, the counties where Murphy is doing well (Washington, Warren, Essex, Dutchess) are all in. He leads in Columbia, which isn’t. Of the counties Tedisco leads in, Saratoga and Delaware still have more numbers yet to report. Far more votes are coming in from Saratoga than Columbia–and Tedisco already has the lead. This could go to Tedisco very quickly if those trends do not change.
Murphy (D): 62,811
Tedisco (R): 63,923
Updated 9:58pm EST.
Murphy (D): 46,645
Tedisco (R): 46,969
Updated 9:44pm EST. Race is very, very close. It may not be clear who won until very late or tomorrow.
Murphy (D): 16,558
Tedisco (R): 18,390
Updated 9:32pm EST.
Labor/Obama Important in 20th District Race
Posted by Jay in 2009 Elections on March 31st, 2009
New York State has one of the strongest and most established labor union forces in the United States. The 20th District’s special election between Tedisco and Murphy has been described as rural but it includes an enclave of labor in the resort town of Saratoga Springs; as well as the affluent–civil service– suburb of Albany: Clifton Park.
Organized labor has made it a goal of helping Scott Murphy by being the vanguard of Murphy’s get-out-the-vote mobilization in the 20th district.
An email by the Capital District Area Labor Federation 2 days ago was even written by Scott Murphy.
I am writing to ask you for one final request — please take a few hours out of your day to volunteer tomorrow, on Election Day. To sign up for a volunteer shift, please email nicki.weiner@gmail.com.
I also wanted to let you know of one final event that the Capital District Area Labor Federation will be hosting. Tomorrow, at 5pm at the Park and Ride, Clifton Park (Exit 8 off the I-87 Northway) we invite you to join former Congressman Mike McNulty, Capital District Area Labor Federation President Joe Fox, PEF President Ken Brynien, and CSEA President Danny Donohue, along with my father and many other local labor leaders for a GOTV Rally to thank everyone for what you have done and what you will continue to do…
Thank you for your continued support:
Scott Murphy
The New York Times (Hat tip to the Times Union Lydia Kulbida’s Blog) City Room reports that organized labor is going so far as passing out a flier that doesn’t even mention Scott Murphy but rather correlates electing Murphy to giving Obama a hand!
The low turn-out reported may be a good thing for Murphy as Labor has really given Murphy a helping hand.
If Murphy wins, New York will sustain a friendly labor Democrat for Upstate New York. Furthermore, Obama’s plans will get a clear mandate and Obama will once again have labor to help credit for his political strengths.
This will increase the Obama Administration’s stake in passing the Employee Free Choice Act.
If Tedisco wins, however, it sends an even louder statement to both labor/Obama and even the Employee Free Choice Act. This is because the mainstream media will most likley reconsider Obama’s mandate and popularity. This race really has that much riding on it.
NY-20: Bad omen for Tedisco?
Posted by Devin in 2009 Elections on March 31st, 2009
As the day wears on, more and more it seems like Tedisco is getting negative press.
Take this, for instance: Tedisco is reported to be text messaging people in Schenectady County, urging them to vote. Here’s a map of the 20th C.D. Unfortunately, Schenectady is not in the 20th.
And many in Schenectady who want to vote for him are being turned away. Unfortunately for Tedisco, the New York Assembly Minority Leader, his district in the New York Assembly and the district he hopes to win today, are not made up by the same geography. In fact, Tedisco can’t even vote for himself: like many of his supporters, he lives in Schenectady. He plans to move to the 20th Congressional District only if he wins today.
National Republicans are also not getting their hopes up, as Republican House leader John Boehner called NY-20 a “Democrat seat” (it had been a solidly Republican seat until Gillibrand won it two years ago).
As for Murphy, he has been riding a wave of positive press in recent days — closing the gap in polls and getting attention from national Democrats.
NY-20: Tedisco, Murphy hoping for an early night
Posted by Devin in 2009 Elections on March 31st, 2009
Provided they’re the victor, of course.
Jim Tedisco and Scott Murphy are vying for last-minute votes as I type in this close special election to replace newly-appointed Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in the U.S. House of Representatives.
According to the Albany Times Union, there were 5,907 absentee ballots last night, meaning an early night would take a margin of victory of around 6,000 in order for a winner to be certain quickly after the polls are closed tonight at 9PM EST.
A recent poll by the DCCC has Murphy, the Democrat, having a slim lead; Tedisco’s camp, however, maintains their polling indicates their guy has a slim lead. Siena, the only independent pollster to release results, has Murphy surging to a lead late last week after Tedisco was expected to win handily. The Democrats got involved after Tedisco’s numbers sank, prompting Vice President Biden and Gillibrand to tape robocalls and Obama’s image to show up on Murphy mailers.
Results will begin appearing after the polls close at 9PM. Check back with The Daily Horse Race tonight to see who won!
NY-20: Tedisco, Murphy vie for seat, election Tues.
Posted by Devin in 2009 Elections on March 30th, 2009
James Tedisco and Scott Murphy have one more day to convince voters they would best represent Upstate New York in Congress. Voting will begin Tuesday at 6AM and end at 9PM (EST).
Kirsten Gillibrand, who was appointed to the senate and who the candidates hope to succeed, taped a robocall in support of Murphy, the Democrat. She also campaigned with him over the weekend. She holds very high approval ratings for such a Republican-leaning district: 76 favorable, 18 unfavorable.
You can hear the audio from the Albany Times Union website.
Because turnout is low in special elections, get-out-the-vote operations are particularly important. I’m surprised the old Obama operation hasn’t sent somebody to assist. With Murphy closely linked to Obama already, it doesn’t seem as if he would have minded any more help from the president.
In recent weeks, Murphy has surged ahead of Tedisco in an independent poll; it will be up to his operation to make sure the work he has done doesn’t dissipate. Tedisco would love for some of those voters who have recently changed their minds to not vote or be uneasy at the voter booth (and ultimately return to Tedisco).
NY-20: Murphy takes lead in final poll
Posted by Devin in 2009 Elections on March 27th, 2009
With the election just days away, Siena has released their final poll for New York’s 20th Congressional District, and Democrats have got to like the results: their candidate, Scott Murphy, has taken a 4-point lead in come-from-behind fashion over Republican James Tedisco.
Murphy: 47 (41, 34)
Tedisco: 43 (45, 46)
Previous polls (3/12, 2/26) showed Tedisco with 12-point and 4-point leads. In recent days, Murphy has aligned himself with President Obama, supporting his stimulus bill and using his likeness in an advertisement.