Rep. Bishop leads Altschuler as absentee count ends

Rep. Tim Bishop (D-N.Y.) holds a 235-vote lead over Republican challenger Randy Altschuler with all absentee ballots counted in New York's 1st congressional district. 

"We are very confident that Tim Bishop has won this election," Bishop spokesman Jon Schneider said in a statement Tuesday afternoon. 

Currently, Bishop is in the driver's seat, but Altschuler isn't conceding just yet. Lawyers for both campaigns are still due in court early next week to battle over more than 2,000 challenged ballots.  

In all, Altschuler has challenged 1,261 ballots, while Bishop has challenged 790. Schneider said Tuesday that the campaign expects Bishop's lead to increase once a judge officially rules on those challenges.

Earlier Tuesday, upstate Rep. Dan Maffei (D-N.Y.) conceded defeat to Republican Ann Marie Buerkle, officially handing the GOP a 63rd seat. 

That leaves just two other House races still outstanding, both in California, where Democratic Reps. Jerry McNerney and Jim Costa lead their Republican challengers.