2009/2010: Quigley wins
Posted: Wednesday, April 08, 2009 9:04 AM by Mark Murray
Filed Under:
2009, 2010
ILLINOIS: As expected, Democrat Mike Quigley won by a wide margin, 69%-24%, in the race to replace Obama Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel in Illinois' 5th Congressional District. Emanuel, by the way, forgot to vote, per the Chicago Tribune. "Quigley said he plans to return to Chicago most weekends and will sleep on his office couch while in Washington."
"I recognize in many respects I will be compared to him and that's a tough, tough task. It's extraordinary," Quigley told supporters at an election night party at a North Side Chicago bar. "For a while I will be the guy in D.C. that's recognized as that's the guy taking Rahm Emanuel's seat. We will fight very hard to set our own ground, to establish our own credentials."
And, of course, as the AP notes (as have we), "It's the same congressional seat once held by impeached Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and former House Ways and Means Chairman Dan Rostenkowski."
NEW YORK: Counting of the absentee ballots in the still-undecided NY-20 special election between Scott Murphy (D) and Jim Tedisco (R) begins today.
Politico writes that Tedisco had a 17-vote lead over Murphy as of yesterday. “The official tally is now Tedisco with 77,035 votes, and Murphy with 77,018. Tedisco regained the lead after election officials in Saratoga County apparently misreported its recanvassed tally to the state Elections Board.”
PENNSYLVANIA: "Sen. Arlen Specter on Tuesday said that former Rep. Pat Toomey is too conservative to win a general election race in Pennsylvania, claiming his likely primary opponent 'is to the right of Rick Santorum,'" The Hill writes, adding that on MSNBC's Morning Joe yesterday, "Specter said Toomey fought for deregulation, embraced private accounts in Social Security and, if nominated, would lose the general election and allow Democrats to pass so-called card-check legislation favored by organized labor."
