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GOUVERNEUR, NY - Despite the fact that Bill Owens has already been sworn-in and has voted on crucial legislation in the House of Representatives, he may not have actually won the NY-23 Congressional Special Election. Several errors were made during the initial vote counts. Over 2,000 votes for contender Doug Hoffman were not counted in the preliminary results, narrowing the current vote gap to less than 3,000 votes between Democrat Bill Owens and Conservative Doug Hoffman. The errors were discovered during the standard vote recanvas that has been underway since November 4th. The largest error occurred in Oswego County where...

A recanvassing of votes cast in the highly contested NY-23 race shows that the 5,335-vote lead once enjoyed by Rep.-for-now Bill Owens, the Democrat, has narrowed to about 3,000 with another 10,000 absentee ballot uncounted. Owens, who was sworn in last week, was one of 220 Dems to vote give the majority a narrow victory on health care reform. UPDATE: Josh Kraushaar, who has been following this closely, says Conservative Party boss Mike Long thinks Owens is going to win at the end of the day -- because only about 5,400 absentees have been returned. The Syracuse Post-Standard: But Hoffman’s...

That headline may be premature, but it was even MORE premature to swear in Owens last Friday before all the votes were counted!Democrats didn't waste any time swearing in Bill Owens to take a seat in Congress representing the 23rd Congressional District of New York. While the Conservative candidate Doug Hoffman had conceded the race on election night when it looked like he was down by over 5,000 votes, all the ballots had yet to be counted and a string of reporting errors underreported Hoffman's totals by thousands of votes. The official vote count is now so close that the...

Washington -- Conservative Doug Hoffman conceded the race in the 23rd Congressional District last week after receiving two pieces of grim news for his campaign: He was down 5,335 votes with 93 percent of the vote counted on election night, and he had barely won his stronghold in Oswego County. As it turns out, neither was true. But Hoffman’s concession -- based on snafus in Oswego County and elsewhere that left his vote undercounted -- set off a chain of events that echoed all the way to Washington, D.C., and helped secure passage of a historic health care reform bill....

Washington -- Conservative Doug Hoffman conceded the race in the 23rd Congressional District last week after receiving two pieces of grim news for his campaign: He was down 5,335 votes with 93 percent of the vote counted on election night, and he had barely won his stronghold in Oswego County. As it turns out, neither was true.

GOUVERNEUR, NY - Congressman-elect Bill Owens was sworn in at noon today. Owens indicated in a press release released shortly afterwards that he was now in favor of the the "Affordable Healthcare for America Act" bill in direct contrast to his earlier position during the election campaign. According to Politico.com, Mr. Owens assured voters that he felt the public option had no place in the health care reform bill. Contrary to that position, Mr. Owens now indicates that he intends to vote in favor of the bill even though it now contains a public option. UPDATED: A spokesman for Congressman...

(The following is an extrapolation from the article.) A spokesman for Congressman Owens stated the following: Mr. Owens has recanted his solid positions on the following; he now supports the public option in the Health Reform bill; he will support cutting Medicare benefits; he supports taxing health care benefits; and will support increased taxes on the middle class.

http://www.gouverneurtimes.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7623:owens-to-break-campaign-promises&catid=60:st-lawrence-news&Itemid=175 GOuVERNEUR, NY - Congressman-elect Bill Owens was sworn in at noon today. Owens indicated in a press release that he was now in favor of the bill in direct contrast to his earlier position during his campaign. According to Politico.com, Mr. Owens assured voters that he felt the public option had no place in the health care reform bill. Contrary to that position, Mr. Owens now indicates that he intends to vote in favor of the bill even though it now contains a public option. Mr. Owens also indicated during his campaign that he was firmly opposed to cutting...

Congressman-elect Bill Owens was sworn in at noon today. Owens indicated in a press release that he was now in favor of the bill in direct contrast to his earlier position during his campaign. According to Politico.com, Mr. Owens assured voters that he felt the public option had no place in the health care reform bill. Contrary to that position, Mr. Owens now indicates that he intends to vote in favor of the bill even though it now contains a public option. Mr. Owens also indicated during his campaign that he was firmly opposed to cutting Medicare benefits, taxing health...

Here is video of political consultant Mike Murphy saying Democrat Bill Owens, who won the New York 23rd Congressional District race on Tuesday, should "rent" and "not buy in Washington," because Republicans will likely take that seat back a year from now if they can get their act together in the nomination process of selecting a candidate to oppose him. Murphy was appearing on MSNBC's Morning Joe when he made the comments. . . . (VIDEO)

....And he said that both the GOP nominee, Dede Scozzafava and the conservative party candidate Doug Hoffman were both out of the mainstream of the upstate New York district – which lead to the victory of Democrat Bill Owens Tuesday night.

Just as many of us predicted the Democrat leadership is frantically spinning yesterdays election saying that Virginia and New Jersey are no big deal while NY-23 should....get this....actually reassure bluedog Dem's: Centrist, Blue Dog Democrats should be reassured on their healthcare vote by last night's election, White House senior advisor David Axelrod said Wednesday. Axelrod said that Democrats' victory in New York's 23rd congressional district should reassure Democrats who are concerned about the political ramifications of any vote for the House's health reform bill. Which is hilarity in the extreme. Owens is, as KOS described him in less then glowing...

In New York's 23rd Congressional district, Democrat Owens finished with 49% , making him the winner of a plurality of the votes. What's being overlooked by Republicans and conservatives is that Scozzafava, despite having withdrawn from the race, still garnered 6% of votes, with Hoffman getting 45%. I'm guessing that most of Scozzafava's 6% were absentee ballots which had already been mailed before she dropped out. Other votes could have come from die hard fans of hers, or voters who simply didn't know she was no longer in the race. Whatever the reason, the fact remains that Owens won with...

ALBANY -- Bill Owens unexpectedly turned back an aggressive challenge by Conservative Party upstart Doug Hoffman to win an upstate congressional seat yesterday, becoming the first Democrat to represent the area in more than 100 years. Owens, an attorney and retired Air Force captain, was leading by 3 percentage points. Hoffman conceded shortly after midnight. "We stood up against two major parties that had a lot of money, but we got this far on determination," Hoffman told supporters gathered in Saranac Lake. "I want to really thank everybody here and around the district and around America who stood up for...

The race has now been called for Democrat Bill Owens. This is a huge win for conservatives. “Whaaaa. . . ?” you say. There are two big victories at work in New York’s 23rd Congressional District. First, the GOP now must recognize it will either lose without conservatives or will win with conservatives. In 2008, many conservatives sat home instead of voting for John McCain. Now, in NY-23, conservatives rallied and destroyed the Republican candidate the establishment chose. I have said all along that the goal of activists must be to defeat Scozzafava. Doug Hoffman winning would just be gravy....

America has changed, and you have helped. Although we did not succeed in winning this election, we have succeeded in making sure political parties and special interests no longer take the people for granted. I believe we have sent a powerful message and laid the groundwork for future conservative campaigns. I congratulate Bill Owens on a hard won victory. In our tradition of free elections, our country continues. And although Bill Owens has won, I believe America is turning the page to a new dawn. The ideas of freedom, sound fiscal management and citizen government have sprung back into our...

Look, I know we all hate to see Hoffman go down tonight, but it's hardly a defeat. Conservatives made a stand and sent a defeat to RNC and the country club elitists by driving their candidate out of the race. True Conservatives like Fred Thompson and Sarah Palin scored a victory over the RINO establishment and wannabe Republican leaders like Newt Gingrich. It was the first step for Conservatives in taking back the Republican party. Let's keep making that stand to the RNC that we will no longer settle for the moderates and Democrat lite candidates they want to shove...

SARANAC LAKE, N.Y. — Votes were being counted late into the night in a hard-fought contest between a staunch conservative and a moderate Democrat for New York State’s northernmost Congressional seat, leaving one of the biggest questions in politics unanswered.With 77 percent of precincts reporting, the Democrat, Bill Owens, had 49 percent of the vote, while the Conservative Party candidate, Douglas L. Hoffman, had 45 percent, a margin of fewer than 4,000 votes. Rob Ryan, a spokesman for Mr. Hoffman, said that a number of variables, including as many as 10,000 absentee ballots, could delay the results for days. “It’s...

Breaking News: Fox News Projects: Democrat Owens Wins Race for New York's 23rd Congressional District

First returns, Clinton Co: Owens 103 Scozzafava 8 Hoffman 340

Since they seem to be so fond of "moderates"

A Hoffman staffer tells NRO that a Hoffman supporter had his tires slashed this afternoon near United Methodist Church on Beakman Street in Plattsburgh. A police report has been filed.

When Dede Scozzafava votes today, she will see her name on the Republican line for the 23rd Congressional District. She plans to pull the lever for her Democratic opponent, then take the rest of the day off to do laundry and take care of other chores she ignored in the last two months of debating and defending her candidacy. Scozzafava quit the race three days before the election and threw her support behind the Democrat, Bill Owens. Scozzafava had been elected as a pro-choice Republican to be mayor of Gouverneur and member of the New York state Assembly. Suddenly, she...

Follow those races here. Report turnout, exit polls etc. as they happen..

Should this be a SUPRISE? UPDATE: Well I take back everything I said. Scozzafava today threw her support to the Democratic candedate Owens. “I am supporting Bill Owens for Congress and urge you to do the same,” she said. “In Bill Owens, I see a sense of duty and integrity that will guide him beyond political partisanship. He will be an independent voice devoted to doing what is right for New York. Bill understands this district and its people, and when he represents us in Congress he will put our interests first.”

for a penny, in for a pound — or in for a robocall, as evidenced by Dede Scozzafava’s latest effort to support Democrat Bill Owens. which was released by Owens’ campaign. Script: “Hi, this is Dede Scozzafava calling on behalf of Bill Owens. And I wanted to let you know that I am supporting Bill for Congress. “Since beginning my campaign I have said that this election is not about me, it’s about the people of this district. It’s not in the cards for me to be your representative but I strongly believe Bill Owens is the only candidate who...

The drama continues in New York’s 23 Congressional District. An 11th-hour poll in a much-watched upstate New York House race shows Conservative Party Candidate Doug Hoffman leading Democrat Bill Owens 41% to 36%, two days after the Republican candidate pulled out and one day before the election. But the race remains fluid. Since Republican Dede Scozzafava withdrew on Saturday, she still retains the support of 6% of the voters, while the number of undecided voters doubled from 9% to 18%, according to the poll released this morning by the Siena Research Institute. The poll has a four percentage point margin...

Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., stumping here Monday for the Democratic candidate in a special House race that has attracted national attention, tried to capitalize on infighting among Republicans over the race by calling on moderate members of the party to "join us in teaching a lesson to those absolutists." "They may not have any room for moderate views in the Republican Party upstate anymore, but let me assure you: We have room," said Mr. Biden, said at a pre-Election Day rally for Democrat Bill Owens.

Hoffman Leads Owens 41-36%; Undecided up to 18% Hoffman Leads in South; Owens Leads in East; Tied in West Favorability Ratings: Hoffman Up; Owens Slips; Biden Good with Dems Loudonville, NY. On the eve of Election Day, Conservative Doug Hoffman has opened up a five point lead over Democrat Bill Owens in the race for the 23rd Congressional District. Republican Assembly member Dede Scozzafava still gets six percent support, but since her decision to suspend her campaign and support Owens, the number of undecided voters has doubled from nine percent to 18 percent, according to a new Siena (College) Research...

Trick or Treat Comes a day late in Upstate New York. One day after lauding her selfless decision to withdraw, I retract every nice thing I said about this idiot!Yesterday, I commended Dede Scozzofava for suspending her campaign and freeing her supporters in advance of Tuesday's special election to fill the vacant congressional seat in New York's 23rd district. At the time, Ms. Scozzofava said: "I am and have always been a proud Republican. It is my hope that with my actions today, my Party will emerge stronger." Obviously that statement had about as much truth in it as her...

I got a tip a day prior. It was a former employee of CommutAir. Several of those employees have lost their livelihoods because of the acts of Owens, allegedly. Owens seemed really dodgy on the issue. You decide, here’s the video (which the local media covered like hyenas on fresh meat):

Republican Dede Scozzafava endorsed her former Democratic opponent Sunday in the race for an upstate New York congressional seat, one day after Scozzafava dropped out of the contest. Scozzafava dropped out after Conservative Party candidate Dough Hoffman experienced a late-in-the-game surge. But on Sunday, Scozzafava backed Democrat Bill Owens -- the announcement was made in a statement send out by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. "I am supporting Bill Owens for Congress and urge you to do the same," she said. "In Bill Owens, I see a sense of duty and integrity that will guide him beyond political partisanship. He...

Dierdre K. Scozzafava's decision to suspend her campaign for the 23rd Congressional District seat is a shocking development in what had already been an extraordinary race. In her statement Saturday morning, the assemblywoman explained the reasons behind her decision: "It is increasingly clear that pressure is mounting on many of my supporters to shift their support. Consequently, I hereby release those individuals who have endorsed and supported my campaign to transfer their support as they see fit to do so." During the day Saturday, she began to quietly and thoughtfully encourage her supporters to vote for Democrat William L. Owens....

Dierdre K. Scozzafava's decision to suspend her campaign for the 23rd Congressional District seat is a shocking development in what had already been an extraordinary race. In her statement Saturday morning, the assemblywoman explained the reasons behind her decision: "It is increasingly clear that pressure is mounting on many of my supporters to shift their support. Consequently, I hereby release those individuals who have endorsed and supported my campaign to transfer their support as they see fit to do so." During the day Saturday, she began to quietly and thoughtfully encourage her supporters to vote for Democrat William L. Owens....

"The grass roots of the conservative movement just claimed a scalp before anyone even voted," said Republican strategist Mark McKinnon, a former senior adviser to President George W. Bush and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). "The conservative movement is alive, well, kicking hindquarters and taking names. And if you don't measure up, look out."

Washington -- Vice President Joe Biden plans to travel to Watertown on Monday morning for a last-minute campaign stop to boost Democrat Bill Owens in the 23rd Congressional District race. Biden will attend a "get out the vote" rally at 8:30 a.m. at the North Side Improvement League, 633 Mill Street, Watertown, the Owens campaign said today.

Washington – The campaign for the 23rd Congressional District seat has turned into a two-person race that is too close to call only days before the election, according to an independent poll released today. Democrat Bill Owens (36 percent) and Conservative Doug Hoffman (35 percent) have emerged as the frontrunners, the Siena College poll of likely voters found. At the same time, Republican Dede Scozzafava – the early frontrunner – has seen her support sink to 20 percent of likely voters, the Siena Research Institute poll found. Scozzafava, a state Assemblywoman and the only candidate in the race with political...

The House Republican leadership is prepared to welcome Doug Hoffman into its ranks, National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Pete Sessions (R-Texas) said Thursday, a sign that the GOP establishment is recalibrating its approach toward the contentious New York special election and the Conservative Party nominee whose candidacy has divided the party. “He would be very welcome, with open arms,” Sessions told POLITICO in an interview off the House floor.

Someone mentioned there was a debate TONIGHT w/Owens, Scuzzyfuzzy and Hoffman...that was why Hoffman didn't go to last nights....is there anywhere we can follow it?

The news keeps getting better regarding the Hoffman, Scozzafava, Owens race. Scott Johnson from Powerline relates a conversation he had with a friend and "principal of the political consulting firm of Red Sea LLC and the polling firm Basswood Research," Jon Lerner. Following up on Rothenberg's column, I called Jon to ask for his take on the congressional election. He made so many interesting points that I asked him to reiterate them briefly in a message for Power Line readers. Jon writes: To recap our discussion of NY-23, I have done three surveys for the Club for Growth. The initial...

When the Soros-backed online group MoveOn.org wants to strike contribution-inducing fear in the hearts of its liberal e-mail list, they know whose name to use...

I suspect the stated reason and the real reason are two different things, but whichever it is, this is lame. The only good reason to duck a debate is if you’re so far ahead of your opponent that the risk of showing up and stumbling into a bad answer is greater than the expected gain from showing up and doing well. That’s not the case with Hoffman; while Scozzafava may have faded, there’s no question that he and the Democrat, Bill Owens, are neck and neck. (In fact, Rove thinks Owens is likely to win.) So what gives?

WASHINGTON — William L. Owens may be the presumed front runner in the contest for the 23rd Congressional District, but Douglas L. Hoffman was the favorite last week among outside groups supporting the candidates. Independent groups spent $178,028 last week on advertisements and other efforts in support of Mr. Hoffman, the Conservative candidate, compared to $147,545 on behalf of Mr. Owens, the Democrat.

HOFFMAN, DOUGLAS Receipts $307,889 Individual $187,389 PAC $0 Party $18,500 Candidate $102,000 Other $0 Disbursements Cash on Hand Debt $234,843 $146,090 $430,400 10/14/2009 SCOZZAFAVA, DIERDRE K Receipts $250,206 Individual $120,442 PAC $103,891 Party $13,850 Candidate $12,000 Other $23 Disbursements Cash on Hand Debt $209,502 $81,407 $24,000 10/14/2009 OWENS, WILLIAM Receipts $503,297 Individual $320,654 PAC $161,050 Party $9,916 Candidate $11,677 Other $0 Disbursements Cash on Hand Debt $374,936 $256,721 $251,121 10/14/2009

The latest poll in the New York special election shows a close race, with Democrat Bill Owens leading Republican Dede Scozzafava 35 to 30 percent, with Conservative party candidate Doug Hoffman at 23 percent. <snip> Also note: The survey was conducted from October 19-21, largely before Scozzafava was criticized for calling the police on a Weekly Standard reporter

Got trademark? The dairy industry is criticizing the Democratic candidate in New York's 23rd Congressional District race for using the famous slogan "Got milk?" in a political ad. The Northeast Dairy Foods Association, which represents milk processors and dairy farm producers, says Bill Owens is using the registered trademark without authorization. Dairy farmers pay to use the line in advertising. Owens uses the phrase "got milk money" in an ad ...

Michael Patrick Leahy, the Tea Party activist who has been going after NY-23 GOP candidate Dede Scozzafava with hammer and tongs, produces this photo of the candidate stumping today outside of one of Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman’s offices. Little-known fact: There are lots of campaign workers, and signs, in such offices, ready to be deployed.Here’s some video from the presser.

ASSOCIATED PRESS ALBANY — President Obama and former President Bill Clinton are lending their political star power to an unlikely Democratic bid to win a special congressional election in an area that’s been a Republican bastion for more than a century. The Nov. 3 contest in upstate New York’s 23rd Congressional District, a sprawling, 11-county area where registered Republicans outnumber Democrats by 45,000 voters, is shaping up as a test of a struggling GOP and a possible gauge of Obama’s coattails. Obama, who carried the district by 5 percentage points in his landslide victory in New York last year, forced...

President Obama is finding a new version of bipartisanship, taking time out of his busy schedule to speak at a fundraiser for a New York congressional candidate who makes no secret of his more conservative leanings. Obama’s appearance tonight is on behalf of Democratic candidate Bill Owens, who polls show is running slightly ahead of a more liberal Republican and an even more conservative opponent. All three are sparring in a special election for the congressional seat vacated when Obama named moderate Republican John M. McHugh to be secretary of the Army.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Nearly one year removed from his own election, President Barack Obama is dashing into campaign mode again, devoting coveted time toward getting Democrats elected in November and generating cash for his party in 2010. <snip> At separate events in New York City, the president will raise money both for Bill Owens, a Democrat trying to win a special election in an upstate New York congressional district, and for the Democratic National Committee. The national party fundraising event alone is expected to generate between $2 million to $3 million.