A Republican snagged Anthony Weiner's seat, taking the district for the GOP for the first time since 1923
Updated 11:59 p.m.
QUEENS, N.Y. -- With more than half of precincts reporting, retired
media executive and Republican Bob Turner beat New
York State Assemblyman David Weprin in the
special election to fill the congressional seat vacated by
Anthony Weiner Tuesday in an upset capture of a solidly Democratic seat
last in GOP hands in 1923. Results from 329 of 512 precincts in
the 9th congressional district -- a largely white ethnic, middle- to
upper-middle class
community that spans parts of Queens and Brooklyn -- found Turner leading 53
percent to 47 percent over Weprin.
"I've seen enough, it's done...now very comfortable making this projection: Bob Turner (R) defeats David Weprin (D) in #NY09" concluded Dave Wasserman, the U.S. House editor of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, as early results trickled in and before the Associated Press called it for Turner. Observed Nate Silver of The New York Times, "A crude extrapolation from borough-wide results would have Turner winning this by about 10 points."
The race, like many special election contests, had become a closely watched as national party analysts on both sides of the aisle predicted it would show just how damaged President Obama is as the economy continues its years-long stall. Democrats had begun pre-spinning a potential Weprin loss after a Siena College poll showed him trailing Friday, seeking to cast it as nothing more than a quirky election with a bad candidate before an Israel-obsessed Queens electorate. But Turner's surge in the district once held by Sen. Chuck Schumer and one-time vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro also offers a cautionary tale.