Owens leads in early New York returns

Democrat Bill Owens leads the special election in New York’s 23rd district 51-44 with about 33 percent of precincts reporting.

Though Conservative Party nominee Doug Hoffman appeared to have the momentum going into Election Day, the de facto Republican nominee is down in early returns.

Plenty of votes have yet to be counted, including absentee votes in the coming days, and some voting machine problems in St. Lawrence County could delay results past Tuesday night.

The race has burst onto the national scene over the last few days, after a conservative backlash pushed the liberal Republican nominee, Dede Scozzafava, from the race.

Hoffman and Owens polled close before Scozzafava’s exit, and Hoffman took leads in a pair of polls afterward. But there was plenty of unpredictability heading into the voting Tuesday, and neither side was too confident about their prospects.

Scozzafava crossed parties to support Owens – a move lamented by Republicans who labeled her a turncoat.

Democrats pointed to the events as proof that conservatives are unhappy with the direction of the national GOP. Conservative candidates are challenging establishment Republicans in many top races around the country – mostly as primary challengers, but some as third-party candidates like Hoffman.

Republicans pointed to Hoffman’s ascendance as proof that conservative principles are popular. They note that the district went 52 percent for President Barack Obama in 2008.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) spent more than $1 million on the race, while the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) spent most of its $900,000 opposing Owens, even though the expenditures occurred before Scozzafava’s exit.

Third party groups led by the Club for Growth played heavily for Hoffman. The Club’s spending rivaled the major party committees for much of the race.

As a measure of the coming 2010 environment, that race represents something of an anomaly, with variables that won’t be repeated in most races across the country. The winners will seize on the results as evidence of some momentum.

Republicans won the governorships of Virginia and New Jersey on Tuesday, taking the seat from Democrats. The other big race Tuesday night was in New Jersey, where Gov. Jon Corzine (D) lost a second term in a close race with Republican former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie.

Republicans had struggled in the last four major special congressional elections, dropping three in 2008 before major losses in the general election. They also lost another battleground district in upstate New York early this year.

The seat became vacant when Rep. John McHugh (R-N.Y.) was confirmed as Obama’s Army Secretary.