Metro

GOP Turner wins Weiner seat in upset

(
)

Take that, Mr. President!

Republican Bob Turner scored a stunning upset victory yesterday by capturing disgraced former Rep. Anthony Weiner’s congressional seat.

Turner soundly defeated Democrat Assemblyman David Weprin in what is widely seen as a referendum on President Obama’s policies.

“We’ve lit one candle. There’s going to be a bonfire soon when they [in Washington] fully understand it,’’ Turner said of his victory in the once-safe Democratic Queens/Brooklyn district.

PHOTOS: GOP WINS NY HOUSE RACE

Some 500 cheering Turner supporters chanted “USA! USA!’’ at the victory party at the Roma View restaurant in Howard Beach.

Turner said he’ll be sworn in tomorrow. He’s expected to be the star guest at the New York Republican Party’s annual dinner tonight.

“This is a historic race. I’ve been asked by the people of this district to send a message to Washington, and I hope they hear it loud and clear,’’ he said.

“I’m the messenger.’’

Turner, 70, a retired TV exec, then took on Obama.

“We are ready to say, ‘Mr. President, we are on the wrong track,’ ’’ Turner said to thunderous applause, adding, “This election will resound through 2012.’’

Turner was ahead, 54 to 46 percent, with 89 percent of the precincts reporting early this morning.

But Weprin refused to concede.

“There’s a lot of votes to be be counted. Stay tuned,’’ the Queens Assemblyman said at his election-night gathering in Forest Hills.

National Republican and Democratic strategists closely watched a race that should have been a shoo-in for Weprin in a safe blue district.

But they saw Turner successfully turn it into a vote on Obama’s job performance, on the state of the economy and on the president’s controversial treatment of Israel.

“I said to myself, ‘We need to turn this election into a referendum [on Obama]. And we did!’ ’’ gushed former Mayor Ed Koch, the first prominent Democrat to cross party lines for Turner.

“This was an earthquake, an absolute earthquake,’’ said Brooklyn Assemblyman Dov Hikind, an influential orthodox Jewish Democrat who also backed Turner.

Turner tapped into Jewish voters’ discontent with Obama’s handling of Israel, particularly his pressing Jerusalem to negotiate its 1967 borders in peace talks with the Palestinian Authority.

“We’ve had it with your treatment of Israel,’’ Turner thundered, surrounded by hundreds of Orthodox Jewish supporters just after midnight.

Many fed-up voters agreed.

“I voted for Turner to send Obama a message on the economy and Israel,” said Elaine Kaye, 64, an Orthodox Jew.

Said Joe Altschuler, 67, a registered independent: “My vote was against Obama. I certainly don’t like his policy on Israel. The stimulus was a waste of money. This is a guy who talks great but doesn’t deliver.’’

For his part, Weprin and the Democratic machine painted Turner as a Tea Party Republican who would slash Medicare and Social Security. But he couldn’t overcome the anti-Obama sentiment.

“The public is rightfully very angry at government right now, and David being an elected official took more of the brunt of this anger,’’ said his brother, Councilman Mark Weprin. “The president took some of the heat [also].’’

Worried about Turner’s strong challenge in a district where Democrats account for a majority of the voters and outnumber Republicans by 3-to-1, Weprin’s campaign, the Democratic Party and unions poured more than $1.5 million into the race.

They vastly outspent Turner and the GOP on the airwaves, and swamped voters with mailings and phone calls — to no avail.

The 9th Congressional District has been in Democratic hands since 1920. Before Weiner, the seat was held by such Democratic heavyweights Geraldine Ferraro and Charles Schumer.