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Republican Chris Gibson has catapulted ahead of Democratic Rep. Scott Murphy in the race for the upstate New York's 20th congressional district, according to an independent poll released Tuesday. The survey found that Gibson was leading Murphy 51-42 percent, reversing a 17 point deficit from last month, according to the poll by the Siena College Research Institute. The survey found that Gibson was now drawing strong support from Republicans and also was leading among independents, in the district that includes a number of counties around Albany. The district is one of several upstate New York districts won by Democrats in...

In New York’s 20th Congressional District, Siena finds a huge late surge for one of the candidates we’ve urged you to help: Entering the final week of the campaign, Republican Chris Gibson has reversed an early campaign deficit and turned it into a 51-42 percent lead over Democratic Representative Scott Murphy,

Loudonville, NY. Entering the final week of the ampaign, Republican Chris Gibson has reversed an early campaign deficit and turned it into a 51-42 percent lead over Democratic Representative Scott Murphy, who is seeking his first re-election, according to a Siena (College) Research Institute poll of likely voters released today. Gibson has become much more known to voters over the last six weeks, with a positive three-to-two favorability rating. Murphy remains known to more voters, however, they are evenly divided between those who view him favorably and those who view him nfavorably. “Chris Gibson has completely erased a 17-point deficit...

The Key House Races "Candidate of the Day" thread will be posted daily up until Nov. 2 and feature a different candidate each day. Each of these candidates is in a Toss Up, Leans D, or Likely D race and represents one of the front line soldiers in the fierce battle for control of the U.S. House.The DCCC and liberal special interest groups are pouring resources into these races and will continue to do so up until Nov. 2. Thousands of donations targeted toward the GOP candidates in competitive races will NEUTRALIZE the donations of these Democratic special interest groups....

New York’s 20th congressional district has a problem. It’s an R+2 district, one that Bush carried 54 percent to 46 percent in 2004, and one that Obama carried by 3 percent, a classic swing district. But their Democratic congressman, Scott Murphy, is one of those so-called “moderate Democrats” who are never moderate when it really counts. He voted for Obamacare, and staunchly opposes repeal. He voted against a ban on federally funded abortions. He voted for cap-and-trade. Murphy likes to talk a lot about his strong views on pay-as-you-go, but he voted to raise the debt ceiling. He voted for...

...In his first race for the office, Murphy sold himself as a moderate. But he certainly hasn't voted that way, providing Pelosi with a critical vote on final passage of ObamaCare -- after voting against it the first time around. ...There's only one way to ensure that there's one less vote for Nancy Pelosi continuing as speaker in January: Vote for Democrat Murphy's opponent, Chris Gibson, on Nov. 2.

Chris Gibson’s congressional campaign has issued a memo describing an internal poll showing the retired Army colonel from Kinderhook is trailing Rep. Scott Murphy, D-Glens Falls, by four points. In a head-to-head match up, the poll found Murphy leading Gibson 42-38. The pollsters write in a memo: “Among the voters most interested in the election, Gibson leads, 41%-40%.” The poll was conducted early last week by Public Opinion Strategies and surveyed 400 “likely” voters, determined by their self-rating. Dan Odescalchi, a Gibson spokesman, said the sample was 41 percent Republican, 27 percent Democratic and 32 percent un-enrolled or other parties....

With today’s announcement of the Top 10 Guitar Solos of All Time, another Gibson.com Top 50 list is in the books. Below, check out the full rundown of all 50 solos that made the list. (You can get more information on each of the entries here: #50-41, #40-31, #30-21, #20-11 and #10-1.) Plus, take a look at the readers poll and the guitarists who scored multiple entries further down the page.

SCHODACK -- Rudy Giuliani thinks Chris Gibson's race for Congress isn't so much about his experience as an Army colonel, or about the voting record of that other guy currently representing the district. Instead, the former New York City mayor said it's about stopping House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as she moves the country toward a "European-style social democracy." "I'm not really campaigning against the current congressman -- who doesn't have my views on government, doesn't have my views on where the economy should go," Giuliani said Wednesday morning. "Let's put it this way: a vote against Chris is a vote...

Between now and Election Day, the Times Union will examine the claims of many of the ads -- TV, radio, print -- being deployed by the candidates in regional and statewide races. Here's a look at two ads currently on the air in the 20th Congressional District contest between U.S. Rep. Scott Murphy (D-Glens Falls) and his Republican challenger, Chris Gibson. The ad: "Betrayed" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysoGNX3Mv54&feature=player_embedded Producer: The 60 Plus Association, an advocacy group that describes itself as "the conservative alternative to the American Association of Retired Persons." The organization has fielded similar ads in more than a dozen congressional races...

Rep. Scott Murphy holds a 17-point lead over his Republican challenger Chris Gibson, a poll released today by the Siena Research Institute shows, and voters agree with major planks of the platform he and his fellow Democrats are carrying to the November elections. But Gibson, a retired Army colonel from Kinderhook, was able to gain the support of 37 percent of voters, and may have an opening if he can paint Murphy as just another incumbent tied to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco. “This campaign has a long way to go,” said poll spokesman Steve Greenberg. “The vast...

Chris Gibson, who’s running against Democratic Rep. Scott Murphy for New York’s 20th Congressional District, told supporters in Maplecrest on Saturday his campaign is raising “respectable figures.” “Clearly if you’re following this closely you see that my opponent has a lot more money than me,” he said. “But fear not,” he told the supporters, gathered under the pavilion of CD Lane Park. Filings with the Federal Election Commission last week show Gibson has $526,334 cash-on-hand compared to Murphy’s $1.45 million. Gibson raised $262,000 during the last filing period, while Murphy brought in more than $325,000. Gibson, a Republican and retired...

The top 10 1. Van Halen, Van Halen (1978) 2. The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Are You Experienced (1967) 3. Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin IV (1971) 4. Derek and the Dominos, Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs (1970) 5. Guns N’ Roses, Appetite for Destruction (1987) 6. Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin II (1969) 7. The Allman Brothers Band, At Fillmore East (1971) 8. Cream, Disraeli Gears (1967) 9. The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Electric Ladyland (1968) 10. AC/DC, Back in Black (1980)

Recently, veterans supporting Chris Gibson’s candidacy announced the formation of the Veterans for Gibson Coalition. Gibson recently retired from the military after serving for 24 years. He rose to the rank of Colonel and was deployed seven times, which included four tours to Iraq. “The men and women that have served, or still serve, our nation hold a special place in my heart. Their support for my candidacy has been overwhelming and I want them to know that I will always be there for them. It is thanks to them that we live in a country that is free, prosperous...

There’s good news and bad news. First, the bad. As we all know, there just aren’t enough places to play skee-ball in Mount Holly, New Jersey. Which just ain’t right. But fear not. The good news rights that wrong. I have found the perfect location for skee ball this side of Steel Pier. Unfortunately for Mount Holly mayor Tom Gibson, that location happens to be where his house now sits. Hey, stuff happens. All that remains to be done is grease the political skids and file the paperwork required to seize Gibby’s house through eminent domain. Isn’t it great when...

"My discussions with Republican strategists and conservative House-watchers yielded a list of 20 races in which this quarter’s donations are most likely to prove decisive. In many cases, these challengers have actually demonstrated some significant fundraising ability; they just have the bad luck to go up against incumbents — often long-established, powerful Democrats on key committees — who are sitting on small fortunes. Their districts are often conservative-leaning, they have demonstrated real charisma and energy, and in many cases the early polling is favorable."

Oliver Stone found himself the catalyst of an online brush fire on Monday after he made comments published in The Sunday Times of London that were interpreted as anti-Semitic. In an interview with The Times to promote his documentary “South of the Border,” which is about South American politics, Mr. Stone defended Hitler. “Hitler was a Frankenstein, but there was also a Dr. Frankenstein,” he said. “German industrialists, the Americans and the British. He had a lot of support. Hitler did far more damage to the Russians than the Jewish people.” Mr. Stone then proceeded to discuss what he called...

TMZ has learned Mel Gibson got ratted out to the government after an immigration group heard him use a derogatory term for illegal aliens -- and the complaint could spark an investigation into who's working for Mel. The San Diego Minutemen tell TMZ they dropped a dime on Mel with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) because they heard him refer to one of his domestic workers as a "wetback" during the secretly-recorded rant at Oksana Grigorieva. The Minutemen are volunteers whose mission is "to demand maximum border security and immigration enforcement" -- and we're told Gibson's use of the...

It was the moment of greatest peril for then-Sen. Barack Obama’s political career. In the heat of the presidential campaign, videos surfaced of Obama’s pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, angrily denouncing whites, the U.S. government and America itself. Obama had once bragged of his closeness to Wright. Now the black nationalist preacher’s rhetoric was threatening to torpedo Obama’s campaign. The crisis reached a howling pitch in mid-April, 2008, at an ABC News debate moderated by Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulos. Gibson asked Obama why it had taken him so long – nearly a year since Wright’s remarks became public –...

The final meltdown of Mel Gibson has come at a convenient time for Catholic-baiters in the media. The guy threatens violence against women, he’s a racist and he’s a CATHOLIC! Here’s Lucy Mangan in The Guardian, stooping almost as low as Gibson: Received wisdom is that Gibson cannot recover from this. But one course is still open to him. If ever priesthood beckoned a man, it is surely now. At least he apparently saves his violence for adult females. And if you don’t understand that last dig, let me point you to Times columnist Caitlin Moran, who explained on Thursday...