NY-09

GOP Pollster: Republican Ahead For Anthony Weiner House Seat

Eric Kleefeld | September 6, 2011, 2:45PM

NY-09 candidates Bob Turner (R) and David Weprin (D)

Republican polling firm Magellan Strategies has a new survey for next Tuesday's NY-09 special election to replace Anthony Weiner -- showing Republican candidate Bob Turner ahead of gaffe-prone Democrat David Weprin in this historically Democratic district.

The numbers: Turner 44.6%, Weprin 40.4%, plus 3.2% for Christopher Hoeppner of the Socialist Workers Party. The survey was conducted in one day, on September 1, and has a ±2.16% margin of error.

The survey found Weprin underperforming against what should be expected for a Democrat in the district. The poll asked a generic ballot question, several questions before the actual named-candidate horse race. That result found a generic Democrat leading in the district with 44.8%, with a generic Republican at 39.9%.

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NY-09

GOP Candidate For Weiner House Seat: 9/11 Health Law Shouldn't Cover Volunteers

Eric Kleefeld | August 24, 2011, 2:00PM

NY-09 candidate Bob Turner (R)

Bob Turner, the Republican candidate in the NY-09 special election to replace former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D), is criticizing the new law providing health-care aid to 9/11 rescue workers and volunteers who have suffered health problems from exposure to toxic debris.

"I probably couldn't go home if I didn't support the Zadroga bill. I have firemen in my family, but is that bill beyond criticism? No," said Turner, the New York Daily News reports, referring to the law signed this past January by President Obama. The law is named after the late NYPD Detective James Zadroga, who died of a respiratory illness attributed to his having breathed in toxic dust at the World Trade Center site.

"My call would be to protect police, fire, emergency workers, construction workers, etc," Turner explained, also adding: "If someone said, 'I volunteered' or walked through there, it's just not the type."

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NY-09

Candidates Debate In Special Election For Weiner House Seat

Eric Kleefeld | August 23, 2011, 11:14AM

NY-09 candidates Bob Turner (R) and David Weprin (D)

The candidates for the NY-09 special election, to fill the seat vacated by the resignation of former Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner, met for a debate on Monday night. Along with disagreement over the country's fiscal issues and the social safety net, shots were taken on such topics as President Obama's call for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations based around the pre-1967 borders, and the long fought-over proposal for an Islamic community center near the World Trade Center site.

The New York Times reports on the debate between Democrat David Weprin and Republican Bob Turner:

Some topics discussed at the forum have already been talked about at length during the campaign: Mr. Turner criticized the Muslim community center planned near ground zero, calling it an unnecessary provocation, and Mr. Weprin emphasized his support for Israel and said he disagreed with President Obama for saying that Israel's pre-1967 border should be the basis for a peace agreement.

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NY-09

It's Baaaack: 'Ground Zero Mosque' Becomes Campaign Issue In Race For Weiner's Seat

Jillian Rayfield | August 12, 2011, 6:00AM

NY-09 candidates Bob Turner (R) and David Weprin (D)

If you thought the controversy over New York City's Cordoba House Islamic Center was long over, Republican NY-09 candidate Bob Turner wants you to think again.

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Anthony Weiner

Anthony Weiner Replacement Election Set For Sept. 13

Evan McMorris-Santoro | July 1, 2011, 2:25PM

Voters in New York's 9th Congressional District will head to the polls to choose disgraced Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner's replacement on Sept. 13, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced today.

That makes the second Tuesday in September a kind of mini-Super Tuesday for special election fans and sex scandal observers: voters in Nevada's 2nd Congressional District will also go to the polls to fill the seat vacated by Sen. Dean Heller (R) when he was appointed following disgraced Sen. John Ensign's (R) resignation earlier this year.

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NY-09

Weiner's District: An Established Dem Advantage, But Growing GOP Strength

Eric Kleefeld | June 16, 2011, 10:18AM

Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY)

With Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) resigning from Congress, it is worth looking at the statistics from his district for the upcoming special election.

Roll Call has rated the seat, based 70% in Queens plus parts of Brooklyn as "Safe Democratic." The Dems certainly do have the advantage, but underneath there have been some shifts in the Republicans' direction in recent cycles.

The district voted 55%-44% for Barack Obama in 2008 -- but a decade ago it was even more Democratic, having voted in 2000 for Al Gore by 68%-30%, but then shifted to only 56%-44% for John Kerry in 2004. This actually puts the district among the few in the country where Obama under-performed Kerry's percentage, though only by a slight margin.

On the Congressional level, Weiner never faced serious opposition. For example, he won 61% of the vote in 2010, 93% in 2008, was unopposed in 2006. Thus, Democrats begin with a hefty advantage here, especially in the wake of the Dems' pickup of the upstate NY-26 based on Republican proposals to privatize Medicare. But nevertheless, this one bears keeping an eye on.