GOP wins in NY, Nevada House races

Republican Bob Turner, with voters dealing a rebuke to President Barack Obama in a traditionally Democratic district, won the New York City House seat that scandal forced Anthony Weiner to give up.

The Associated Press reported that with 88 percent of the vote counted in yesterday's special election, Turner had 54 percent and Democrat David Weprin had 46 percent.

In another special election for a vacant House seat in Nevada, Republican Mark Amodei defeated Democrat Kate Marshall. Amodei was favored to hold the seat that fellow Republican Dean Heller vacated this year when he was appointed to the Senate to replace John Ensign, who resigned in the midst of an ethics inquiry into an extramarital affair.

“Families are frustrated and afraid, and it's time that Washington stops spending money that it doesn't have and starts getting people back to work,” House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, a Virginia Republican, said in a statement today. “Bob Turner will be a partner in our efforts to do that.”

Weiner, a Democrat, vacated the New York seat in June following revelations that the married congressman had sent lewd photos of himself and messages to women over the Internet.

The House now has 242 Republicans and 192 Democrats with one vacancy.

‘Big Red Flag'#8220;I think it's a big red flag,#8221; Stu Rothenberg, editor of the Washington-based Rothenberg Political Report, said of the New York election results. #8220;The ramifications go well beyond Queens and Brooklyn.#8221;He called it #8220;a warning sign that voters who are dissatisfied with the direction of the country may well be more likely to take it out on the president and his party than on congressional Republicans.#8221;Rothenberg said Democrat Weprin #8220;didn't run a great race,#8221; but #8220;even a weak Democratic candidate should be able to hold it against a mediocre Republican.#8221;Turner, 70, capitalized on dissatisfaction over Obama's handling of the economy and the administration's perceived unfriendliness toward Israel. He was endorsed by former New York City Mayor Edward Koch and state Assemblyman Dov Hikind, both Democrats, over Weprin, an Orthodox Jew.Weprin had counted on the Queens Democratic organization to pull out the vote.#8220;There's a lot of frustration in this district,#8221; said New York City Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, who campaigned with Weprin. #8220;That said, it's a special election and by definition a very small slice of the electorate comes out to vote. Whoever turns out their base wins.#8221;#8216;Wake-Up Call'Representative Eliot Engel, a New York Democrat, said before the votes were counted that Obama's Middle East policies #8220;shouldn't even be an issue#8221; because Weprin #8220;is a very solid vote for Israel.#8221; Still, Engel said, the campaign may be #8220;a wake-up call#8221; for Obama that Jewish voters are unhappy with some of his policies, including his public suggestion that Israeli borders prior to the 1967 Six-Day War should be the basis of a Middle East peace agreement.A poll last week by Siena College in Loudonville, New York, had given Turner a six-percentage-point lead in the district, which includes parts of Queens and Brooklyn.#8220;People are very upset with Washington,#8221; said Steven Greenberg, a Siena pollster. #8220;They're very angry about the economy and the jobs situation. And they're prepared to take it out on the Democrats, even though the vast majority of the voters in this district are Democrats.#8221;Last-Minute Ad CampaignDemocrats sought to overcome the public disenchantment by mobilizing the party's get-out-the-vote operation and through a last-minute ad campaign.The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spent $514,247 on ads to try to hold the seat, Federal Election Commission reports show. The House Majority PAC, set up to raise and spend unlimited amounts of money in support of Democratic congressional candidates, reported spending $162,656 on ads and direct mail on behalf of Weprin, 55, a member of the state Assembly.An ad financed by the DCCC depicted Turner, a retired television industry executive, as favoring corporate tax loopholes over the needs of Social Security and Medicare beneficiaries.Democrats accounted for 57 percent of the district's registered voters as of April, according to the New York State Board of Elections, and Weiner won his seventh term in November with about 59 percent of the vote. Obama carried the district with 55 percent in 2008.Disappearing District?The Republican victory may be short-lived. The district, once represented by Democratic Senator Charles Schumer and Geraldine Ferraro, the 1984 Democratic vice presidential nominee, could be one of New York's two House seats redrawn out of existence because of the 2010 census. New York's House delegation is shrinking in next year's election to 27 seats from 29.For now, Turner's victory gives Republicans bragging rights after the party suffered its own upset in a western New York House race in May. In that special election, Democrat Kathy Hochul won in the traditionally Republican district with a campaign focused on protecting the existing Medicare program.That seat opened up after Republican Christopher Lee resigned following reports that the married lawmaker had sent a bare-chested photo of himself to a woman he met online.Nevada RaceIn the Nevada race, Amodei was buoyed by spending from the National Republican Congressional Committee, which pumped $597,818 into the race, and the American Crossroads group that Republican strategist Karl Rove helped set up, which spent $261,885.With 100 percent of the vote counted, Amodei had 58 percent to 36 percent for Marshall, according to the AP. Amodei is a former state Republican Party chairman; Marshall serves as the state treasurer. The district covers virtually the entire state outside the Las Vegas area.#8216;Nevadans voted to send a strong Republican to Congress who will fight for more jobs and less government,'' said Representative Pete Sessions of Texas, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee. #8220;Mark ran a hard-fought campaign based on his commitment to cut deficit spending, taxes and regulations to free Nevada small businesses to grow and hire more workers.#8221;ELN26674000Republican Bob Turner addresses supporters Tuesday during an election night party in New York. The retired media executive and political novice defeated Democratic state Assemblyman David Weprin. Associated PressELNELN40002667The crowd cheers as Republican Bob Turner appears onstage Tuesday during an election night party in New York. The retired media executive and political novice defeated Democratic state Assemblyman David Weprin. Associated PressELN