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Title: Democrat Surges in Poll Ahead of N.Y. Special Election
Source:
blogs.wsj.com/washwire
URL Source: http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2011/ ... ahead-of-n-y-special-election/
Published: May 22, 2011
Author: Siobhan Hughes
Post Date: 2011-05-22 23:01:25 by Ferret Mike
Keywords: None
Views: 5085
Comments: 31
AMHERST, N.Y. — A congressional race that may test voter support for a controversial Republican plan to overhaul Medicare remains tight before Tuesday’s special election, with a new poll suggesting that the Democrat now has a slight edge. Democrat Kathy Hochul has been campaigning in the western New York district against the House GOP plan to remake Medicare. She had support from 42% of likely voters in a survey released Saturday, compared to 38% for Republican Jane Corwin. Republicans have long represented the district, so gains by Democrats are being closely watched well beyond the region. The poll, conducted by the Siena Research Institute, surveyed more than 600 likely voters and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points. In a Siena poll three weeks ago, the Democrat had trailed the Republican candidate by five percentage points. Support for a third-party candidate appears to be fading. Businessman Jack Davis was picked by 12% in the most recent poll, about half the support from the prior survey. Off-cycle House elections typically draw few voters to the polls, making predictions about the outcome especially tricky. “Despite Hochul’s current lead, apparent momentum and strong favorability ratings, this race is not over yet,” said Don Levy, director of the Siena Research Institute. “Needless to say: turnout, turnout and turnout.” Mindful that voters stay away from the polls during off-year elections, Ms. Corwin is holding a get-out-the-vote rally on Saturday morning and later will knock on doors across vote-rich Erie County. Ms. Hochul is to appear Saturday morning with Bowzer of the band Sha Na Na, known for its 1950s rock music. She will later appear at a rally with Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D., N.Y.). New York’s 26th district stretches from the suburbs of Buffalo to the suburbs of Rochester. The House seat became vacant after former congressman Chris Lee, who is married, resigned following revelations that he had sent a shirtless picture of himself to a woman he was trying to meet online. The May 24 election is being watched for clues to voter reaction to Congress since Republicans gained new power in the 2010 mid-term elections. The Republican-controlled House, supported by the fiscally conservative tea party, has insisted on reducing federal spending. As part of that effort, House Republicans approved a plan to end Medicare’s traditional role as a fee-for-service program, turning it instead into a system of subsidized, private health insurance plans. The change would not affect people who are now age 55 or older. In the Siena survey, about equal numbers of voters said that Medicare, jobs and the federal budget deficit were the issues most important to them. Mr. Davis has been running television advertisements criticizing the outsourcing of jobs to China, a message that plays well in a region where manufacturing has been in decline. The businessman, who spent millions of dollars of his own money on earlier campaigns for Congress, was seen on video recently losing his temper when a Corwin aide taunted him for failing to participate in a debate.
The special election to fill a House seat in upstate New York was supposed to be an easy victory for Republican Jane Corwin, left. But support for Democrat Kathy Hochul, right, is growing.
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Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 9.
#1. To: Ferret Mike (#0)
The Republicans can thank the Teabaggers for the loss - again.
Yep.
Yep. I see the Staten Island Fairy has chimed in. Bullshit to you, too.
Wow...can I use that one? So original you are!!! Politics is about consensus. Our system was set up to be one in which consensus could be more easily attained. It's why theh Framers didn't believe in political parties and factionalism [Feeralist #10] and it was one of the few points of agreement that the Federalists and the anti-Fedralists [Cato #3] shared.
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#7. To: Skip Intro (#1)
The Republicans can thank the Teabaggers for the loss - again.
#8. To: war (#7)
The Republicans can thank the Teabaggers for the loss - again.
#9. To: Get Outta Dodge! (#8)
(Edited)
I see the Staten Island Fairy has chimed in.
Replies to Comment # 9.
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