A special election in upstate New York has drawn a lot of special attention.
A win by Democrat, Kathy Hochul, over two conservative opponents in a predominantly Republican district near Buffalo is grabbing headlines nationwide:
Raymond Hernandez of the New York Times reports that this race is sending a signal to the GOP:
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. The results set off elation among Democrats and soul-searching among Republicans, who questioned whether they should rethink their party’s commitment to the Medicare plan, which appears to have become a liability heading into the 2012 elections.
The Buffalo News is calling Hochul's win an astonishing victory. Political reporter Robert J. McCarthy writes that even Hochul admits her staunch supporters were few and far between:
But when asked if anyone outside of her family and a handful of supporters ever thought she would win, the congresswoman-elect paused for just a second. "My husband did," she said finally. "And my kids. It was very much a small circle of family and believers, and the seven county chairmen as well." "It was a small group," she added.
How big a deal is this race? Bill Clinton wants Paul Ryan to call him to chat about it.
With one deal done, Cuomo ready for more
Governor Andrew Cuomo is now calling for more collaboration from legislators on ethics reform, after making a property tax cap deal with them earlier this week, according to Jon Campbell of Politics on the Hudson:
A day after announcing a conceptual deal with legislative leaders on a property-tax cap, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he hopes to mimic the same process to come to a deal on ethics reform in the Legislature. Speaking after a stop in Utica as part of his “People First” issues tour, Cuomo said the cap was achieved through a “collaborative process.”
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