GOP in NY20: Dirtier By The Day

“Our goal, as it has been from the beginning, is to ensure that every eligible vote is counted and that the integrity of this election process is protected,” [National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Paul Lindsay] said.

In GOP speak, that means convincing the courts to only count those votes cast in their favor–in other words, let’s ignore a large portion of absentee ballots (they even hired a pollster to figure out which way these votes were leaning!), let’s disenfrachise students, and let’s challenge the vote of Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. Yesterday, Gillibrand responded to the on-going ridiculousness of the Tedisco campaign:

The Republican’s challenge is frivolous and without merit. This is part of their larger attempt to disenfranchise legal Democratic voters and delay the inevitable Democratic victory in the 20th. Every day that the national Republicans waste with their dishonest stalling tactics is another day Upstate New Yorkers are deprived their Member of Congress.

Donate to Murphy’s campaign here. He needs all the help he can get to win this dirty fight.

The Latest From NY20

I’ve been getting asked frequently about the latest in the Scott Muphy/Jim Tedisco election in the New York 20th. Rightly so, as MYD played a large part in that election, and we deserve to know the latest.

You’ve probably heard alot of fluctuating numbers going around. Don’t expect that to stop anytime soon. After the election night tallies come in, each county in the NY-20 goes back over the numbers and re-tallies. In most cases, they were off by a few votes which, normally, is pretty insignificant. But when both candidates are within a couple dozen votes, these fluctuations can determine the outcome. The 20th Congressional District stretches across ten counties, so this will take a while.

Add to this the fact that the absentee ballots still need to be counted, and we’re in for a lot of waiting. Because of a discrepancy between NYS Law and Federal guidelines for special elections, the deadline for absentee ballots was extended until April 13th. Until then, the absentee ballots are under lock-and-key. An intricate and costly legal dance between lawyers from both sides will decide how these votes are counted.

NY has a bit of experience dealing with elections this close. Last time it was Andrea Stewart-Cousins’s narrow defeat to Nick Spano for State Senate. She ended up losing by 18 votes after months of litigation, only to come back in 2006 and win decisively.

So, we wait for the recount, we wait for the absentee ballots to be counted, we wait for the lawyers to do their dance, and maybe months from now we’ll have a congressperson. But if you’re one of those people that needs to know what is going on, you can get the tallies posted from Friday here.

MYD Boots On NY20 Ground

Sam Richard, our civically-minded official photographer, went up to NY20 this past weekend to canvass and document MYD’s volunteer efforts. Given just how very close this race is turning out to be–the margin of victory is fluctuating between a paper-thin 25 to 65 votes!–every single one of these volunteers could influence the outcome of this election.

Meanwhile, an internal Dem model has run the numbers and predicts a 210-vote win for Murphy. Don’t hold your breath, but cross your fingers for him.

Underdog No Longer

First of all, a HUGE congrats to Scott Murphy, his staff, and the many vols (including MYDers!) on their amazing performance yesterday.

Recall that just a few short weeks ago, Tedisco held a double-digit lead. NY20 is a fiercely gerrymandered district (Al recently described it as “the bastard claw of Upstate New York“) where registered Republicans outnumber registered Dems by 75,000. Murphy executed no less than an Olympian feat to come out on top, even by a slim margin.

The specifics on what lies ahead for our no-longer-underdog:

As of yesterday evening, the board had canvassed the 10 counties in the 20th and discovered that 10,055 absentee ballots had been issued by seven counties and 5,906 had been returned.

Of the 10,055 absentees, the Repubicans have a roughly 600-ballot edge, according to the board. But of the 5,906 received to date, 798 more came from Republicans.

In other words, it could be a long recount.

Murphy Finishes E-Day Ahead By 65 Votes

Murphy leads in NY-20 by 65 votes with all precincts reporting and 154,000 votes cast.

Behind for most of the night, Murphy pulled ahead with just 3 precincts left to report and held on through the end. Tedisco’s camp filed a challenge earlier in the day. Saratoga County GOP chair Jasper Nolan estimates there are 10,000 uncounted military and absentee votes yet to be counted. This race is not over yet.

As we’ve mentioned before, NY-20 has a 70,000 voter Republican registration advantage. Special elections are characterized by low turnout and this win represents an especially strong vote in favor of Murphy.

You can view vote counts by precinct here.

Tedisco Prepping For Loss?

Update from FDL on the Tedisco campaign, which is apparently gearing up for a loss in NY20:

Republican Jim Tedisco may be running for the House in a district where Republicans outnumber Democratic voters by some 70,000, but with the polls closing in a matter of hours, Tedisco’s campaign is prepping for a loss.

An electoral loss, anyway.

The Dutchess County Clerk’s Office has confirmed to FDL that Tedisco’s people have filed an ex parte motion in order, the effect of which would be to investigate and overturn today’s election results, should the outcome not be to Republicans’ liking.

FDL is trying to obtain a copy of the motion and will post when available.

This filing come on the heels of a report that Tedisco’s own polling has him losing to Democrat Scott Murphy by a narrow margin.

Big Day in NY20

Day of reckoning in NY20. Various sources for your tracking pleasure:

For obsessive coverage of today’s New York race, check Josh Kruashaar’s Scorecard, complete with 2:45 a.m. posting from Jim Tedisco’s all-night campaign.

Also, the Times Union and the left-leaning Albany Project are all over it, as are The Politicker and the Daily Politics.

Let’s hope these hardworking MYD phonebankers make a difference!

Hat tip: Marty for the link, Al for the pic

Enough.

I’ve had quite enough of political campaigns evoking 9/11 and terrorism as a means of ginning up votes.  I’ve had enough of political ads that focus on tearing an opponent down, as opposed to lifting the country up.  I’ve had more than enough of a political discourse that consists of fear mongering and character attacks.  I’ve had enough of the assumption that the American people aren’t capable of engaging in a dialog that’s grounded in issues and ideas, the assumption that we’re interested in political posturing, that we lack the maturity to navigate the substance of our candidate’s arguments and would rather focus on the window dressing of their campaigns.

This ad from the Tedisco campaign is a tragic reminder of what our politics is often reduced to:

It’s an Ad says more about Jim Tedisco and the Republican Party then it does about Scott Murphy.  It reminds me of something that Joe Biden said during the 2008 Presidential campaign:

“What do you do when you have nothing to say? You talk about the other guy.”

Read more

Why NY20 Should Matter to You

Scott Murphy is a fine candidate for Congress. Let’s start with that. But why young New Yorkers should care about the special election in NY20 on March 31st is actually not just about the candidates. NY20 has become the national GOP’s proxy war as they try to hold a referendum on President Obama’s policies, and as they try to stop the tailspin the party has endured since the 2006 midterm elections. And NYC has a role to play in making sure NY20 stays New York Blue.

If Republican James Tedisco were to win, he would put only a slight dent in the 76-seat majority of the Democrat-dominated House. But the relative insignificance of another House Republican would be vastly outweighed by the symbolism of the GOP winning something, period :

A win would help turn the page on the painful 2008 election and offer them a glimmer of hope at a time when Democratic President Barack Obama enjoys high approval ratings.

"It would be an indicator that the tide has turned, (that) when we have an equal playing field we can win on an equal playing field," said Republican strategist Kevin Madden.

A win in NY20 would be exactly the type of distraction we as a nation don’t need right now. It will give Republicans the ammunition to question President Obama’s broad mandate for change (conveniently forgetting his landslide win just months ago and the fact that Obama carried NY20 during that election).  You can bet all the news networks will seize upon the story of the GOP–now portrayed as the underdog–making a comeback (conveniently forgetting that a large part of our various national crises were created by GOP mismanagement during the Bush years).

Now, if the above isn’t enough reasoning to get you phone banking or canvassing, here are some recent news items that may sway you:

• Tedisco recently came out against the stimulus bill . And that was after refusing to even take a stance for an entire month!
• Republicans ran ads against Murphy that had to be subsequently pulled because the allegations in them were unsubstantiated .
• The RNC has spend a disproportionate amount of money on this race. It’s clear they want to win this desperately, which shows just how significant this election has become to them.

Just two weeks ago, polls indicated a Tedisco lead by a wide margin: 46%-34%. Recent polls indicate a tightening in the race: Tedisco now leads Murphy by only 45%-41%, (with a ±3.7% margin of error!).

Momentum is growing for Scott Murphy. Keeping NY20 blue will send a clear message that the change we voted for last November is still our national priority. Make your mark:

Phone bank from NYC
Canvass in NY2o
Make a contribution to the Murphy campaign

CD20 Race Heats Up

The special election in CD20 has taken on national prominence in recent weeks.  Tedisco has refused to take a stance on President Obama’s stimulus package, and the Republicans are approaching this race as an opportunity to turn it into a referendum on the administration’s economic policies. Both the national Democratic and Republican parties are now throwing $s at TV ads for CD20 :

Prior to this week, the only nat’l cmte ads in this race were on the radio. But that ended 3/5, when the NRCC went up with a new TV ad attacking businessman Scott Murphy (D) for approving bonuses for executives of a company that was losing money ("Let’s get a steak" may go down as one of the more memorable lines of this cycle’s TV advertising).

Shortly after this, the DCCC responded, and bought airtime for ads beginning this weekend and airing through election day. This should come as no surprise, as polls are showing a tightening, but still comfortable, Tedisco lead. But despite the CD’s heavy GOP registration, it gave Pres. Obama a slight win, and then-Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand (D) won a significant victory in ‘08.

The decisions by the cmte’s aren’t surprises, but it shows that these next three-and-a-half weeks are going to get very ugly in Upstate NY.

MYD supports Scott Murphy, and the race is tightening.  Phone banks are open 6-9PM on weekdays and 12-8PM on weekends at the Democratic HQ in New York City, 461 Park Avenue South @ 31st Street on the 10th Floor. Email cd20nyc [at] gmail [dot] com or call 212-725-8825 to get involved. You can join the Facebook group here .