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Weiner's Seat Is Looking Red: District 9 Special Election Is Tomorrow
By
Garth Johnston
Published Sep 12, 2011
Modified Sep 12, 2011
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By
Garth Johnston
Published Sep 12, 2011
Modified Sep 12, 2011
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The special election for New York's ninth congressional district (a.k.a. Anthony Weiner's old seat) is tomorrow and children? It is shaping up to be a doozy. Because of the district's demographics—no Republican has ever been elected to the House in the largely Democratic stronghold that covers parts of Brooklyn and Queens—many thought this would be an easy victory for Democratic Assemblyman David Weprin. But with less than 24 hours till the polls open, Weprin is trailing Republican Bob Turner by six points in yet another poll. Luckily for Weprin, robo-Andrew Cuomo is ready to make some phone calls today!
Starting nowish the popular Governor's voice will be dialing up potential voters to try and persuade them to vote for the optimistic pol (Turner currently has America's Mayor Rudy Giuliani doing his robo-calls). And Weprin isn't stopping with the homo-friendly governor (since gay marriage continues to be something of a problem for his campaign), he is also making a last-minute push to emphasize his female friends. "We have a member of this Tea Party right wing that wants to keep women down," Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan) said, referring to Turner, at a Weprin rally in Kew Gardens this weekend. "They want to roll back the rights that [we] have worked so hard for and have earned."
Meanwhile, worried Dems are carefully playing the papers to make sure they're okay no matter how this fight (for a most-likely lame duck seat) plays out. For instance, in the obviously not left-leaning Post today there is a Fredric Dicker story that is pushing the angle that Democrats are pushing for Weprin to lose...for the good of the President. Dicker quotes a Turner strategist saying, "It’s really something. We have a lot of Democrats coming to us saying, 'We hope Turner wins because if Obama doesn’t change his policies, we’re afraid we’re going to lose in 2012.'" And why not? People love to make special elections in small, unique districts referendums on the nation!
Tagged
andrew cuomo
bob turner
brooklyn
david weprin
district nine
ninth district
queens
special election
Garth Johnston
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