NY-23 House Race Still Up in the Air?
Recanvassing shows NY-23 race tightens even as Rep. Bill Owens is sworn into House seat:
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.
The election total as they now stand are around 3000+ for Owens and “will be decided by a count of absentee ballots.” There are 10,000+ absentee/overseas military ballots yet to be counted.
If the total changes, Owens will have to step down.
MORE: NY-23: Not over yet?.
Ed Morrissey, Hot Air think it’s highly improbable that Hoffman can make up the deficit in the remaining ballot to be counted.
It is not outside mathematical possibility that Hoffman could make up the difference, but it’s pushing the limits of probability to the breaking point. Remember that when most of these absentee ballots were cast, Dede Scozzafava was still in the race, with the Republican endorsement. Hoffman didn’t catch up until the last two weeks, and the polling didn’t change until the final week, which finally pushed Scozzafava out of the race.
Hope doesn’t spring eternal. But, maybe in the case of NY-23, it springs for a few more weeks or so.
[...] NY-23 House Race Still Up in the Air? [...]