The Other McCain

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NY-25: Maffei Concedes, Buerkle Wins

Posted on | November 23, 2010 | 15 Comments

Got the good news via the Lonely Conservative, who got it from Robert Harding’s Tweet.

With last night’s concession in TX-27, Buerkle’s win puts the incoming GOP House majority at 242 seats.

A 4 p.m. press conference is scheduled.

UPDATE: Auburn (N.Y.) Citizen:

Maffei issued a statement this afternoon thanking the residents of the 25th for the opportunity to serve.
“I served every day honored to live in a community where a shy kid of modest means from a proud Syracuse family and a graduate of the Syracuse public schools could grow up to earn the trust of his community to represent you in Congress,” Maffei said in the statement. “And I learned from you every day, listening to your stories and working tirelessly on your behalf.”

I had a brief telephone interview today with Mrs. Buerkle. I’ll be writing this up for tomorrow’s American Spectator.

UPDATE II: Steven Moore of the Wall Street Journal calls Buerkle’s victory “one of the biggest election surprises of the year”:

“Almost no one saw this one coming,” said GOP pollster John McLaughlin. “Ann Marie was definitely below the radar screen of most political experts.”
One person who never saw it coming was Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne, who had championed Mr. Maffei as the kind of new liberal Democrat America needs and the Northeast wants. “Absent a Republican wave of historic proportions, his seat now seems out of the GOP’s reach,” wrote Mr. Dionne back in September.

Here’s your “historic proportions,” E.J.

Attagirl, Ann Marie!

UPDATE III: Publius at BigGovernment.com on the significance of NY-25: “John McCain received only 43% of the vote in this district in 2008. George W. Bush received only 48% in 2004. Hope and Change!” The Syracuse Post-Standard analyzed the arguments for and against Maffei seeking a recount.

Linked by Ruby Slippers. Thanks!

UPDATE IV: More reporting by The Hill, Roll Call and CNN, which notes:

Buerkle’s win . . . makes New York the state with the most GOP House pickups– six districts changed sides in the 2010 midterms. Republicans picked up five seats in Ohio and Pennsylvania respectively.

Someone in the comments had asked for details on the historic nature of this election:

  • In the 1946 mid-term election — a postwar backlash against Truman and 14 years of Democrat “New Deal” majorities –Republicans gained 55 House seats and held a majority of 246 seats.
  • In 1948, with Truman campaigning against the “do-nothing Congress,” the GOP lost 75 seats.
  • In 1952, with the popular wartime commander Eisenhower at the top of the Republican ticket, the GOP regained a slender House majority, 221-213.
  • In 1954, Democrats recaptured a House majority that they held for the next 40 years.
  • In 1994, Republicans gained 54 seats for a 230-204 majority.

So in 2010, Republicans gained more House seats (63) than in any election since 1938 (when they gained 81), and they now control more seats (242) than at any time since 1949.

UPDATE V: Remember that (a) Buerkle was endorsed by Sarah Palin, and (b) Buerkle is pro-life and was a former spokeswoman for Operation Rescue.

In 2008, Maffei was elected after the NRCC appeared to write off NY-25. This year, Buerkle — the kind of “right-wing extremist” that the GOP Establishment dreads — put the seat back in Republican hands, despite being out-spent 5-to-1. Maybe there’s a lesson there, huh?

UPDATE VI: Over in NY-1, Left Coast Rebel reports that Randy Altschuler has apparently come up 235 votes short in his challenge to Democrat Rep. Tim Bishop.

UPDATE VII: The Wall Street Journal notes that Maffei’s concession may allow some folks to settle their bets in the office pool. Remember that the title of my Election Day column was “Too Close to Call.”

Category: Ann Marie Buerkle, Congress, Election, New York

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