and not necessarily a good thing either. Kirsten Gillibrand is a good fit for the 20th District but not so good for statewide office. She caucuses with the conservative Blue Dog Democrats, is a big supporter of the NRA and voted in favor of telcom immunity.

That said, she was able wrestle the seat away from a popular four term Republican incumbent on the basis of a late breaking scandal in 2006 and held on to the seat in 2008 in what turned out to be the most expensive congressional race in history. She is a prodigious fundraiser, tapping into the vast resources of her former colleagues in the white shoe legal community in NYC.

Given the large Republican majority in the 20th District it will be a huge challenge for the Dems to hold on to it. She is highly popular in the district but that popularity was earned by dint of hard work and is not an indicator of a major shift in the electorate.

One is the congressional district, the other is the senate seat.

If there is any nail in the coffin argument in favor of just holding special elections, this was it.

poll that the seat in Congress is in serious jeopardy. No surprises there.

Saratoga Springs | April 1, 2009 | Leigh Hornbeck & Irene Jay

Albany Times Union — The too-close-to-call race in the 20th Congressional District between Republican Jim Tedisco and Democrat Scott Murphy just got considerably closer.

Following a review of votes in Columbia County, Murphy still leads Tedisco — but only by 25 votes, 77,217 to 77,192.

That result peels off 127 votes for Murphy and 93 for Tedisco from last night's results.

In this morning's reports, the margin was alternately reported as 59 (by the Times Union) or 65 (the Associated Press and the New York Times).

The narrowing of the gap doesn't change the main fact: Thousands of absentee ballots will essentially decide the race — but not until after April 13.

Each candidate emerged late Tuesday evening to give what amounted to dueling victory speeches at their campaign celebrations, seemingly caught off guard by the razor-thin margin.

Speaking to supporters just a few minutes after the final districts had reported in around 10:30 p.m., an emotional Tedisco spoke of his late father and brother "looking down on us smiling, and waiting for the final tally."

Tedisco thanked Republican National Chairman Michael Steele for his "support and guidance in this race."

"Tonight is not the end of our journey, but merely the beginning," he added.