Republican Bob Turner on Tuesday won the special election in New York's heavily Democratic ninth congressional district -- pulling a huge upset that few would have predicted just months ago.
Turner ran against Democrat David Weprin in a heated, summer-long race that ignited Democratic fears of a quiet election morphing into a referendum on the party and President Barack Obama, ahead of next year's elections.
"We've asked the people of this district to send a message to Washington, and I hope they hear it loud and clear," Turner said at his election party in Queens with a packed room, many of them Orthodox Jews.
"Mr. President, you are on the wrong track."
Turner came in with 54% of the vote while Weprin placed second at 46%, with 100% precincts reporting, according to unofficial results from Valerie Vazquez, communications director for the New York City Board of Elections.
The Cook PVI for the district is D+5, meaning Turner's 8-point win is seriously bad news for Dems, who let this seat get away from them. Republicans went after this seat with a purpose, playing dirty and attacking the Dems on both same-sex marriage and the "Ground Zero mosque", which in a heavily Jewish district was enough to give Bob Turner a comfortable win that was really never in doubt.
Republicans organized and did what they had to in order to win. They used bigotry, homophobia and Islamophobia to scare their base into turning out...but they won. Democrats nationally ignored this election and let this seat get away, just like Scott Brown's Senate seat. There was no organization to push Weprin to stop the crazy.
More than anything else, Dem voter apathy is the most powerful weapon the Republicans have. If you stay home in 2012, this will happen dozens of times over again a year from now, and the GOP will take total control of the country.
And they will do everything they can to make being a Democrat illegal. You can stop it. But only if you ACT.
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