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Murphy is ahead by 273 votes, most ballots to be counted have been. Tedisco's only shot is now to challenge some votes. The onus is on him. Those looking to use NY-20 as a narrative about Obama, the GOP and what's next for American politics are plain out of luck. But overall this will be demoralizing for the GOP. In 2006 and 2008, it seems that Democrats have ultimately won a disproportionate share of very close races. Here and in Minnesota, If the Republican doesn't win convincingly on election day, they don't win period. Absentee ballots should no longer be...

Democrat Scott Murphy’s lead is now up to 178 votes over Republican Jim Tedisco, after a small number of additional absentee and overseas military ballots were counted in Dutchess and Rensselaer Counties. More notably, as the count begins to wind down, it seems like the GOP is prepared for a protracted court battle, at least by the sound of this internal memo sent this afternoon by a National Republican Congressional Committee staffer: From: ********** [mailto:********@nrcc.org] Sent: Thursday, April 16, 2009 12:04 PM To: Subject: NY-20 Update Hi there, I wanted to give you an update on NY-20. As of last...

A week after Election Day, I wanted to give you an update on the status of the race. I am still as confident as ever that we will be victorious in this process and win this race. We got a great court ruling yesterday stating that the counting of absentee ballots must start on Wednesday, as scheduled. It is in the best interest of the people in this district that all the votes be counted fairly and accurately so that they will have a representative in Washington during these tough economic times. The Republicans want to delay this count because...

Only 25 votes separate Republican Tim Tedisco and Democrat Scott Murphy in the special election for New York’s 20th district. That means the winner will be determined by 6,000 outstanding absentee ballots. According to the Department of Justice, 1,300 overseas voters requested absentee ballots, 471 of whom are military voters. Unfortunately, it is the military voters who will probably end up being disenfranchised and having their votes discounted, thanks to the irresponsible New York Board of Elections and the half-hearted actions of the Department of Justice. The problem for military voters in places like Iraq and Afghanistan is that it...

The outcome of a special Congressional election in New York’s 20th Congressional District will likely turn on the illegal exclusion of up to 1,000 overseas military ballots, which otherwise would have tipped the race in favor of James Tedisco (R). Tedisco and Scott Murphy (D) are in a dead heat, with 77,225 votes each. Democrats on the state elections board blocked GOP attempts to allow overseas military voting in the special election. Overseas ballots take weeks to reach voters and be returned unless special measures are taken to speed things up. But the elections officials refused to do anything to...

First Murphy seemed to have won the election,then Tedisco took the lead, now they’re tied. The news coming from New York’s district 20 is becoming stranger and stranger as days go by. The voting machines are recanvassed, which led Republican Jim Tedisco to take the lead (by as few as 12 votes at a certain moment). As it is now, Tedisco and his Democratic opponent Scotty Murphy are tied, however. Jim Geraghty reports: “The recanvass of the ballots in the NY-20 race has yielded, so far, a 77,225 to 77,225 tie. Saratoga County still has to be recanvassed, and absentee...

20TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT — As counties continue a routine recount of voting machine results, the two candidates in the 20th Congressional District race are locked in a dead heat. James Tedisco and Scott Murphy have 77,225 votes each as of this afternoon, said John Conklin, spokesman for the state Board of Elections. Warren, Rensselaer, Otsego, Dutchess and Delaware counties have finished recanvassing their voting machines, and the updated number reflects their new totals. The other five counties, which includes Saratoga County, have not finished recounting the results, so the total is likely to change in the coming days, Conklin said....

ALBANY—Now it's Tedisco by 12! As voting machines are re-canvassed, Assembly Minority Leader Jim Tedisco has picked up 37 votes, evaporating Democrat Scott Murphy's lead in the race to replace Kirsten Gillibrand in Congress, according to county election officials who are conducting a recanvass. Tedisco now has 77,236; Murphy has 77,224.

As voting machines are re-canvassed, Assembly Minority Leader Jim Tedisco has picked up 37 votes, evaporating Democrat Scott Murphy's lead in the race to replace Kirsten Gillibrand in Congress, according to county election officials who are conducting a recanvass. Tedisco now has 77,236; Murphy has 77,224.

As of now it's 50/50. New York 20th Congressional District Scott Murphy (D): 50% Jim Tedisco (R): 50% % Precincts Reporting: 90% http://blogs.timesunion.com/capitol/archives/13044/new-york-20th-cd-election-results I guess we're in for a Franken/Coleman recount? http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/files/elections/2009/by_county/NY_US_House_0331.html?SITE=NYSAR&SECTION=POLITICS

New York 20th Congressional District Scott Murphy (D): 47% Jim Tedisco (R): 53% % Precincts Reporting: 20%

Polls open Tuesday in upstate New York for a Congressional special election putting President Barack Obama's economic recovery policies to their first electoral test. The candidates battling in the 20th Congressional District in the mostly rural north of the state are almost neck and neck, with Democrat Scott Murphy a fraction ahead of Republican Jim Tedisco, according to one poll. The result will make no difference to the balance of power in the House of Representatives in Washington, where Democrats enjoy a big majority.

Jim Tedisco (R) vs. Scott Murphy (D) LIVE results open thread. Turnout looks fairly light so far. Polls close at 9 PM Eastern Please post live results and (if you live in district) some on the ground updates.

Republican New York Assemblyman Jim Tedisco on Friday morning disputed a new poll that shows he is trailing Democrat Scott Murphy in the special election for Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand's (D-N.Y.) former House seat. The Siena Research poll found Murphy leading Tedisco by four points - 47 percent to 43 percent. Tedisco said his campaign's internal polling shows he continues to lead as next Tuesday's election approaches. “Heading into Election Day, our campaign’s internal polling shows us continuing to lead, just as we have for this entire race," Tedisco said in a statement. "Today's Siena poll is simply another in a...

It’s been a big day for the NY-20 special Congressional election. The Libertarian Party candidate was forced off the ballot due to technical issues with his petitions, a problem Barack Obama’s 1996 state Senate opponents might sympathize with. Democrat Scott Murphy has caught Republican Jim Tedisco in the polls. Barack Obama has lent his considerable star power to Murphy in an attempt to hold the seat for Democrats. This new ad by the NRCC might make Obama regret that decision, though:

Worse Than AIG: IBM Seeks Federal Stimulus Money While Outsourcing Jobs From The Hudson Valley To India March 26, 2009 · STATEMENT FROM JIM TEDISCO (R,C-SARATOGA) CANDIDATE FOR CONGRESS: “Reports that IBM – which today cut thousands of jobs in Dutchess County – wants federal stimulus funds while outsourcing jobs from the Hudson Valley to India, is outrageous and possibly worse than what AIG tried to do. Stimulus funding was supposed to spur the creation of jobs – not aid companies that are outsourcing to a foreign country. This type of misguided priority is exactly why, back in February, I...

Democrat Scott Murphy has taken a 4 percentage point lead over Republican Jim Tedisco in the race for the 20th Congressional District, according to the latest Siena Research Institute poll. That's outside the 3.2 percent margin of error. However, by a 10-point margin, more voters think Tedisco, an Assemblyman, will end up beating Murphy in the special election, the poll said. Murphy, a venture capitalist, erased a 4 percentage point deficit in just two weeks. Tedisco’s campaign is seen as being more negative than Murphy’s by a 44-25 percent margin, according to the Siena Research Institute survey. Siena Research Institute...

Geithner, Daschle, Franken, and Now their Nominee in NY's Special Congressional Election I wrote yesterday about Scott Murphy — the Democrat candidate for Kirsten Gillibrand’s old House seat. I pointed out that he was trying to send part of his resume down the memory hole — suddenly erasing from his biography his role in starting an Indian rival to Ebay. I pointed out that he’d also had problems paying his taxes in the past. But now I see that his firm — Small World Software — still has outstanding liens against it with the New York State Department of Taxation....

The special election in New York's 20th district is just one week away and the level of national interest -- and involvement -- is growing rapidly. The two national parties as well as a variety of interest groups are weighing in on the race and, although both sides are downplaying expectations, there is much at stake in the contest. What's clear is that businessman Scott Murphy, the Democrat, has the momentum over state Assemblyman Jim Tedisco (R), and a loss for Republicans could be potentially disastrous for a party looking for good news. The last week of any campaign has...

National Democrats and the Obama White House are moving to counter criticism that party bigwigs have largely been AWOL in a New York special House election. The DNC, which has given candidate Scott Murphy $5,000, is now sending another $5,000 to aid the New York Democratic Party in the March 31 contest to fill former Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand’s seat, according to a source familiar with the contribution. And President Barack Obama has signed an e-mail urging support for Murphy and blasted it to a list of more than 50,000 allies in and around the upstate district. “Scott has the kind...