ALBANY, N.Y. - The two candidates in a New York congressional race that focused on President Obama's economic policies were separated by only 65 votes with all the precincts in and more than 150,000 votes counted last night.
The race between Republican Jim Tedisco and Democrat Scott Murphy will come down to roughly 10,000 absentee ballots. These generally are cast by people who are unable to vote at the polls and usually are submitted by mail. They aren't required to be returned until April 13.
Murphy held the slim lead over Tedisco - 77,344 to 77,279 - in the race to replace Kirsten Gillibrand, who was appointed to the US Senate to succeed Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.
The special election drew an unusual level of national attention, and both candidates had financial support from their national parties and political action committees - mostly spent on increasingly negative television ads.
Republicans hoped a win would knock Obama off balance and put them back on the political map in the Northeast after two dismal cycles that saw them go from nine New York representatives before the 2006 elections to three after the 2008 vote.
Democrats looked for the reassurance of a win in a Republican district less than 100 days after Obama took office and the passage of his $787 billion stimulus package. The administration has been criticized for allowing bonuses for executives of the bailed-out American International Group Inc.
