Close race in New York

After all the votes were counted in the special election last night in New York Democratic candidate Scott Murphy was leading Jim Tedisco by 65 votes.

After a frenzied, bruising special election, a New York congressional race that became linked to President Barack Obama's economic recovery efforts won't be decided for at least two more weeks.

Democrat Scott Murphy led Republican Jim Tedisco by a scant 65 votes out of more than 154,000 cast Tuesday.

After the count of machine votes in 610 voting precincts spread over the mostly rural, 10-county district, the unofficial count was 77,344 for Murphy to 77,279 for Tedisco. That puts the focus on the more than 10,000 absentee ballots mailed to voters who are registered in the district but were unable to vote in person on Tuesday.

It can be a laborious process to count all the paper ballots and those being mailed from overseas aren't due in New York until April 13. A lawsuit filed by state Republicans Tuesday night required all ballots to be impounded to ensure accuracy. It's not an unusual step in close elections.

Of the ballots mailed out, nearly 6,000 were returned by Tuesday but most had not yet been counted.

I would think most absentee ballots would lean conservative. So hopefully Tedisco can pull this one out after all of the absentee ballots are paid. Hopefully this doesn't turn into another Coleman v. Franken race that drags out for months.

If you happen to be from New York

And the 20th Congressional District...make sure to go out and vote for Jim Tedisco for Congress.

Tedisco holding on to a 4 point lead in New York

Him winning this seat would be a good sign for Republicans in 2010. By then I think Obama's popularity won't be as high and we might see the Republicans cut into the dominance the Democrats have in Washington right now. I know Jim Tedisco isn't from Mass but we still need as many Republicans elected to Congress as possible. Any kind of support you could give him I'm sure would go a long way to getting him elected.

The results are likely to have little effect on Capitol Hill, where Democrats enjoy a 76-seat advantage in the 435-member House of Representatives.

But for Republicans, a win would help turn the page on the painful 2008 election and offer them a glimmer of hope at a time when Democratic President Barack Obama enjoys high approval ratings.

"It would be an indicator that the tide has turned, (that) when we have an equal playing field we can win on an equal playing field," said Republican strategist Kevin Madden.

The race features Republican State Assembly Minority Leader Jim Tedisco against Democratic nominated venture capitalist Scott Murphy, who has no background in politics.

A Siena College poll released last Thursday showed Tedisco leading by 4 percentage points, nearly within the poll's margin of error, down from a 12-point lead at the end of February.

A win by Tedisco would help Republicans prove they can win again in the Northeast. The three New York seats currently held by New York Republicans are the only House seats that the party controls in all of New England. A decade ago, Republicans had 17 seats in the region.

Just over the Western Mass Line

Is a candidate who needs our support.

Just over the Massachusetts border, there is a battle for New York's 20th Congressional District going on right now. Republican Jim Tedisco is running, and he needs your help. This Albany-based seat is being targeted by Nancy Pelosi and Washington Democrats, and they will need your help to fight back. If you are interested in volunteering, please call the Tedisco campaign at (518) 373-2702 or email them at info@JimTedisco.com.