New York's 26th congressional district special election, 2011
Encyclopedia
A 2011 special election in New York's 26th congressional district was held on May 24, 2011 to fill a seat in the U.S. Congress
for New York's 26th congressional district
. The vacancy was due to the February 2011 resignation of married Republican Chris Lee who resigned amid a scandal involving flirtatious emails and a shirtless picture he had sent to a woman he met on Craigslist
. Four candidates competed in the election: Republican New York State Assembly
member Jane Corwin
; Democrat Erie County Clerk Kathy Hochul
; Green Party candidate Ian Murphy, editor of the Buffalo Beast; and independent candidate Jack Davis
, a businessman running on the Tea Party line (formerly registered as a Democrat). Hochul was projected as the winner of the race with a plurality of the vote on election night.
(Democratic, Republican, Conservative, Working Families, Independence, and Green) caucused to choose their candidates, with no primary election or petitions to circulate. Independent candidates also had the opportunity to petition onto the ballot.
's election in 1970. Democrats had made serious, but unsuccessful, attempts to gain the seat with self-financed candidate Jack Davis in 2004 and 2006 as well as Alice Kryzan in 2008, but nominated only token opposition in 2010 when Philip Fedele ran.
" because of Corwin's support for the Republican alternative budget proposed by Paul Ryan
(R-Wis.), a proposal that would replace government-provided health care with partial subsidies for the cost of private medical insurance. Hochul criticized the Ryan plan and supports the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
, which Corwin wants to repeal completely. Davis opposed both the Ryan plan and the Affordable Care Act.
had divided their support between Republican nominee Jane Corwin, independent petitioner Jack Davis, and potential candidate David Bellavia
. Jim Ostrowski, the leader of a libertarian-leaning tea party group (the Tea Party Coalition of WNY), endorsed Davis, criticizing Corwin for her lack of outreach to the Tea Party groups, and arranged to put the name "Tea" on Davis's ballot line. TEA New York, a more mainstream Republican-leaning tea party group, was divided between Bellavia and Corwin, with several of its members backing Bellavia's ultimately unsuccessful petition campaign and others (the best known being gubernatorial nominee Carl Paladino
) backing Corwin from the beginning. After Bellavia failed to get onto the ballot, TEA New York endorsed Corwin. TEA New York refused to consider cross-endorsing Davis, mainly because of the use of the name "Tea Party" on Davis's ballot line (a tactic the Tea Party Coalition also used in the 2010 elections), to which he and numerous other Tea Party groups objected. TEA New York, the Tea Party Express
and numerous other Tea Party groups campaigned on behalf of Corwin and attempted to portray Davis as a "fake Tea Party" candidate.
was unanimously selected by local Democratic Chairs to be their special election candidate on March 19, 2011.
Other candidates interviewing for the party nomination included Jane Bauch, former Democratic Party Chair of the town of Murray; Mark Manna, Amherst town councilor; Martin Minemeier, a corrections officer from Henrietta; Satish Mohan, former Amherst town supervisor; Robert Stall, a geriatrician from Tonawanda; and Diana Voit, a resident of Erie County.
was selected as the party nominee the evening of February 21, 2011. Corwin had been considered the likely Republican candidate almost immediately following Lee's resignation.
Other candidates interviewing for the party nomination included David Bellavia
, author and Iraq war soldier; Jack Davis
, Amherst businessman and three-time Democratic candidate for the same seat; Brian Napoli, Ridgeway
town supervisor; Peter O'Brien, U.S. Navy veteran; Barry Weinstein, Amherst town supervisor and former county legislator; Kathy Weppner, talk show host on WBEN
; and Gary Wheat, former Avon
council member.
endorsed Democratic nominee Kathy Hochul on March 20.
endorsed Republican nominee Jane Corwin on March 14.
, in the first election since 2002 in which the party has automatic ballot access, nominated Ian Murphy, editor of the Buffalo Beast, as its candidate on March 23, 2011.
, who had also been rejected in his bid for the Republican, Conservative and Democratic endorsements, filed approximately 12,000 petition signatures, more than triple the necessary number, and was on the ballot on the Tea Party line.
Jim Ostrowski, the unofficial proprietor of the "Tea Party" line, later stated after the election that he believed perennial candidate
David DiPietro was the best candidate for the seat, but did not believe DiPietro had the resources to run an effective campaign and had "almost given up" on running a serious candidacy until aligning himself with Davis.
, who had tried but failed to get party endorsement attempted to launch an independent campaign, submitting approximately 3,600 signatures under the "Federalist Party
" line. His petitions were challenged by a local resident. In addition, Bellavia had failed to submit an affidavit formally accepting the nomination. Consequentially, Bellavia did not receive a ballot position, and the petition challenge was rendered moot. Bellavia eventually endorsed Davis for the seat.
Commissioned by the Hochul campaign Commissioned by Daily Kos
and the SEIU
, at about 10 p.m. EDT, an hour after polls closed and after a majority of votes had been counted. The Corwin campaign, anticipating a close margin of victory, filed for an impounding of the ballots in preparation for a potential recount, but Corwin rescinded her request the following day. Turnout was relatively light; including 6,224 absentee ballots, a total of 111,106 valid votes were cast between the four candidates, a number that is down significantly from the over 150,000 votes cast in each of the three special congressional elections in upstate New York in the past two years (by comparison, in 2008
, losing candidate Alice Kryzan collected 109,615 votes on the Democratic Party line alone). Hochul collected the most votes in Erie and Niagara Counties, while Corwin carried Genesee, Livingston, Orleans, Wyoming and Monroe Counties.
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
for New York's 26th congressional district
New York's 26th congressional district
The 26th Congressional District of New York is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives in Western New York. It includes all of Genesee, Livingston, and Wyoming counties, and parts of Erie, Monroe, Niagara, Orleans counties...
. The vacancy was due to the February 2011 resignation of married Republican Chris Lee who resigned amid a scandal involving flirtatious emails and a shirtless picture he had sent to a woman he met on Craigslist
Craigslist
Craigslist is a centralized network of online communities featuring free online classified advertisements, with sections devoted to jobs, housing, personals, for sale, services, community, gigs, résumés, and discussion forums....
. Four candidates competed in the election: Republican New York State Assembly
New York State Assembly
The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature. The Assembly is composed of 150 members representing an equal number of districts, with each district having an average population of 128,652...
member Jane Corwin
Jane Corwin
Jane Lewis Corwin is an American politician and businesswoman who has served as a Republican Party member of the New York State Assembly since 2009. She represents the 142nd Assembly District which covers parts of Erie and Niagara counties...
; Democrat Erie County Clerk Kathy Hochul
Kathy Hochul
Kathleen Courtney "Kathy" Hochul is the Democratic U.S. Representative for New York's 26th congressional district, serving since June 1, 2011. She prevailed in the four-candidate special election of May 24, 2011 to fill the seat left vacant by the resignation of Republican Chris Lee, and is the...
; Green Party candidate Ian Murphy, editor of the Buffalo Beast; and independent candidate Jack Davis
Jack Davis (industrialist)
John "Jack" Davis is an American industrialist and politician from Newstead, New York. He made his fourth bid for New York's 26th congressional district seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in the special election held on May 24, 2011. The election was held to fill the seat vacated by...
, a businessman running on the Tea Party line (formerly registered as a Democrat). Hochul was projected as the winner of the race with a plurality of the vote on election night.
Procedure
Under New York election law, special elections to fill vacant offices were held between 30 to 40 days of their announcement by the governor. In March 2011, at the initiative of Governor Cuomo and with the approval of the state legislature, the campaigning period was more than doubled, with the reason given that U.S. military serving overseas needed the extra time time to receive and send back their ballots. The Capitol Confidential noted that the federal government had sued for the extension for the military and predicted that the change might also "shift... political tactics during the [special election] campaigns, which because of their short duration favor wealthy candidates and 'air wars'. Once the governor called the election, county chairpersons from each of the six qualified New York partiesQualified New York Parties
In New York State, to qualify for automatic ballot access, a party must have received at least 50,000 votes in the previous gubernatorial election. They need not run their own candidate, they can nominate a different party's nominee, and if 50,000 voters vote for that candidate on their party...
(Democratic, Republican, Conservative, Working Families, Independence, and Green) caucused to choose their candidates, with no primary election or petitions to circulate. Independent candidates also had the opportunity to petition onto the ballot.
Issues
The district is traditionally a safe Republican seat, having been continuously represented by Republicans since Jack KempJack Kemp
Jack French Kemp was an American politician and a collegiate and professional football player. A Republican, he served as Housing Secretary in the administration of President George H. W. Bush from 1989 to 1993, having previously served nine terms as a congressman for Western New York's 31st...
's election in 1970. Democrats had made serious, but unsuccessful, attempts to gain the seat with self-financed candidate Jack Davis in 2004 and 2006 as well as Alice Kryzan in 2008, but nominated only token opposition in 2010 when Philip Fedele ran.
Medicare
According to many observers, the campaign "turned into a referendum on the Republican plan to overhaul MedicareMedicare (United States)
Medicare is a social insurance program administered by the United States government, providing health insurance coverage to people who are aged 65 and over; to those who are under 65 and are permanently physically disabled or who have a congenital physical disability; or to those who meet other...
" because of Corwin's support for the Republican alternative budget proposed by Paul Ryan
Paul Ryan
Paul Ryan may refer to:* Paul Ryan , member of the U.S. House of Representatives* Paul Ryan , music agent for The Agency, former Cradle of Filth guitarist* Paul Ryan , comics artist...
(R-Wis.), a proposal that would replace government-provided health care with partial subsidies for the cost of private medical insurance. Hochul criticized the Ryan plan and supports the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a United States federal statute signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. The law is the principal health care reform legislation of the 111th United States Congress...
, which Corwin wants to repeal completely. Davis opposed both the Ryan plan and the Affordable Care Act.
Tea Party involvement
The local leaders of the Tea Party movementTea Party movement
The Tea Party movement is an American populist political movement that is generally recognized as conservative and libertarian, and has sponsored protests and supported political candidates since 2009...
had divided their support between Republican nominee Jane Corwin, independent petitioner Jack Davis, and potential candidate David Bellavia
David Bellavia
David Bellavia is an American Iraq War veteran who was awarded the Silver Star for his actions during the Second Battle of Fallujah. Bellavia has also received the Bronze Star, three Army Commendation Medals, two Army Achievement Medals and the New York State Conspicuous Service Cross...
. Jim Ostrowski, the leader of a libertarian-leaning tea party group (the Tea Party Coalition of WNY), endorsed Davis, criticizing Corwin for her lack of outreach to the Tea Party groups, and arranged to put the name "Tea" on Davis's ballot line. TEA New York, a more mainstream Republican-leaning tea party group, was divided between Bellavia and Corwin, with several of its members backing Bellavia's ultimately unsuccessful petition campaign and others (the best known being gubernatorial nominee Carl Paladino
Carl Paladino
Carl Pasquale Paladino is an American businessman and political activist from Buffalo, New York. Paladino is the founder and chairman of Ellicott Development Company, a real estate development company he founded in 1973. He was the 2010 Republican nominee for the New York gubernatorial election,...
) backing Corwin from the beginning. After Bellavia failed to get onto the ballot, TEA New York endorsed Corwin. TEA New York refused to consider cross-endorsing Davis, mainly because of the use of the name "Tea Party" on Davis's ballot line (a tactic the Tea Party Coalition also used in the 2010 elections), to which he and numerous other Tea Party groups objected. TEA New York, the Tea Party Express
Tea Party Express
The Tea Party Express is a California-based group founded in the summer of 2009 to support the Tea Party movement. Founded as a national bus tour to rally Tea Party activists, the group's leadership also endorses and promotes conservative candidates running for state and federal offices...
and numerous other Tea Party groups campaigned on behalf of Corwin and attempted to portray Davis as a "fake Tea Party" candidate.
Democratic
Erie County Clerk Kathy HochulKathy Hochul
Kathleen Courtney "Kathy" Hochul is the Democratic U.S. Representative for New York's 26th congressional district, serving since June 1, 2011. She prevailed in the four-candidate special election of May 24, 2011 to fill the seat left vacant by the resignation of Republican Chris Lee, and is the...
was unanimously selected by local Democratic Chairs to be their special election candidate on March 19, 2011.
Other candidates interviewing for the party nomination included Jane Bauch, former Democratic Party Chair of the town of Murray; Mark Manna, Amherst town councilor; Martin Minemeier, a corrections officer from Henrietta; Satish Mohan, former Amherst town supervisor; Robert Stall, a geriatrician from Tonawanda; and Diana Voit, a resident of Erie County.
Republican
Assemblywoman Jane CorwinJane Corwin
Jane Lewis Corwin is an American politician and businesswoman who has served as a Republican Party member of the New York State Assembly since 2009. She represents the 142nd Assembly District which covers parts of Erie and Niagara counties...
was selected as the party nominee the evening of February 21, 2011. Corwin had been considered the likely Republican candidate almost immediately following Lee's resignation.
Other candidates interviewing for the party nomination included David Bellavia
David Bellavia
David Bellavia is an American Iraq War veteran who was awarded the Silver Star for his actions during the Second Battle of Fallujah. Bellavia has also received the Bronze Star, three Army Commendation Medals, two Army Achievement Medals and the New York State Conspicuous Service Cross...
, author and Iraq war soldier; Jack Davis
Jack Davis (industrialist)
John "Jack" Davis is an American industrialist and politician from Newstead, New York. He made his fourth bid for New York's 26th congressional district seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in the special election held on May 24, 2011. The election was held to fill the seat vacated by...
, Amherst businessman and three-time Democratic candidate for the same seat; Brian Napoli, Ridgeway
Ridgeway, New York
Ridgeway, New York is a town in Orleans County, New York, United States. The population was 6,886 at the 2000 census. The name of the town is derived from "Ridge Road," an important highway in the 19th century....
town supervisor; Peter O'Brien, U.S. Navy veteran; Barry Weinstein, Amherst town supervisor and former county legislator; Kathy Weppner, talk show host on WBEN
WBEN (AM)
WBEN is an AM and FM radio station serving the Niagara, Buffalo and Western New York area, broadcasting on 930 AM and, as of April 5, 2011, simulcasting on sister station WLKK at 107.7 FM. It previously simulcasted between 1946 and 1960 on 102.5 FM as WBEN-FM. Both stations retained the WBEN...
; and Gary Wheat, former Avon
Avon (town), New York
Avon is a town in Livingston County, New York, United States. The town is bordered on the north by the town of Rush, New York in Monroe County. Avon is south of Rochester. The population was 6,443 at the 2000 census. The town is named after the river Avon...
council member.
Conservative
The Conservative Party of New York State endorsed Republican nominee Jane Corwin on March 14. Bellavia and Davis also sought the line.Working Families
The Working Families PartyWorking Families Party
The Working Families Party is a minor political party in the United States founded in New York in 1998. There are "sister" parties to the New York WFP in Connecticut, Massachusetts, South Carolina, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Oregon, but there is as yet no national WFP...
endorsed Democratic nominee Kathy Hochul on March 20.
Independence
The Independence Party of New YorkIndependence Party of New York
The Independence Party is an affiliate in the U.S. state of New York of the Independence Party of America. The party was founded in 1991 by Dr. Gordon Black, Tom Golisano, and Laureen Oliver from Rochester, New York, and acquired ballot status in 1994...
endorsed Republican nominee Jane Corwin on March 14.
Green
The Green Party of New YorkGreen Party of New York
The Green Party of New York is a ballot-qualified political party in New York, which was founded in 1992. It is a part of the national Green Party movement...
, in the first election since 2002 in which the party has automatic ballot access, nominated Ian Murphy, editor of the Buffalo Beast, as its candidate on March 23, 2011.
Tea Party
On March 21, Jack DavisJack Davis (industrialist)
John "Jack" Davis is an American industrialist and politician from Newstead, New York. He made his fourth bid for New York's 26th congressional district seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in the special election held on May 24, 2011. The election was held to fill the seat vacated by...
, who had also been rejected in his bid for the Republican, Conservative and Democratic endorsements, filed approximately 12,000 petition signatures, more than triple the necessary number, and was on the ballot on the Tea Party line.
Jim Ostrowski, the unofficial proprietor of the "Tea Party" line, later stated after the election that he believed perennial candidate
Perennial candidate
A perennial candidate is one who frequently runs for public office with a record of success that is infrequent, if existent at all. Perennial candidates are often either members of minority political parties or have political opinions that are not mainstream. They may run without any serious hope...
David DiPietro was the best candidate for the seat, but did not believe DiPietro had the resources to run an effective campaign and had "almost given up" on running a serious candidacy until aligning himself with Davis.
Rejected petition
David BellaviaDavid Bellavia
David Bellavia is an American Iraq War veteran who was awarded the Silver Star for his actions during the Second Battle of Fallujah. Bellavia has also received the Bronze Star, three Army Commendation Medals, two Army Achievement Medals and the New York State Conspicuous Service Cross...
, who had tried but failed to get party endorsement attempted to launch an independent campaign, submitting approximately 3,600 signatures under the "Federalist Party
Taxpayers Party of New York
The Taxpayers Party of New York State was an American political party active in the state of New York. It was not part of any nationwide party, nor is it affiliated with the U.S. Taxpayers' Party , which predates it by 18 years, or the Tax Revolt Party active in Nassau County...
" line. His petitions were challenged by a local resident. In addition, Bellavia had failed to submit an affidavit formally accepting the nomination. Consequentially, Bellavia did not receive a ballot position, and the petition challenge was rendered moot. Bellavia eventually endorsed Davis for the seat.
Polling
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Jane Corwin (R) |
Jack Davis (T) |
Kathy Hochul (D) |
Ian Murphy (G) |
Undecided / Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Siena Poll | April 26–27, 2011 | 484 | ± 4.5% | 36% | 23% | 31% | 1% | 9% |
| Global Strategy Group | May 2–4, 2011 | 400 | ± 4.9% | 31% | 26% | 30% | — | 13% |
| Public Policy Polling | May 5–8, 2011 | 1,048 | ± 3.0% | 31% | 24% | 35% | 2% | 8% |
| Siena Poll | May 18–20, 2011 | 639 | ± 3.9% | 38% | 12% | 42% | 1% | 7% |
| Public Policy Polling | May 21–22, 2011 | 1,106 | ± 2.9% | 36% | 13% | 42% | 3% | 5% |
| Results (for comparison) | [May 24, 2011] | 111,597 | ± 0.0% | [ 42.3% ] | [ 9.0% ] | [ 47.2% ] | [ 1.1% ] | [ 0.4% ] |
Daily Kos
Daily Kos is an American political blog that publishes news and opinions from a progressive point of view. It functions as a discussion forum and group blog for a variety of netroots activists, whose efforts are primarily directed toward influencing and strengthening the Democratic Party...
and the SEIU
Results
The race was called for Kathy Hochul, the Democrat, by multiple local and national news organizations, including the Associated PressAssociated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
, at about 10 p.m. EDT, an hour after polls closed and after a majority of votes had been counted. The Corwin campaign, anticipating a close margin of victory, filed for an impounding of the ballots in preparation for a potential recount, but Corwin rescinded her request the following day. Turnout was relatively light; including 6,224 absentee ballots, a total of 111,106 valid votes were cast between the four candidates, a number that is down significantly from the over 150,000 votes cast in each of the three special congressional elections in upstate New York in the past two years (by comparison, in 2008
New York's 26th congressional district election, 2008
New York's 26th district general election of 2008 was held on November 4, 2008. Republican businessman Christopher J. Lee won the seat running against Democratic lawyer Alice Kryzan , despite the fact that several analysts rated the race as a toss up or leaning Democratic.-Republican...
, losing candidate Alice Kryzan collected 109,615 votes on the Democratic Party line alone). Hochul collected the most votes in Erie and Niagara Counties, while Corwin carried Genesee, Livingston, Orleans, Wyoming and Monroe Counties.