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WASHINGTON — Democrat Kathy Hochul last night won a special election to fill a vacant US House seat in a conservative upstate New York district — snatching victory by campaigning against the GOP plan to transform Medicare.
The upset is sending shock waves through Washington, where the GOP Medicare plan is a key issue in ongoing budget talks.
Republican Jane Corwin was the early front-runner before the tide turned over several issues that could spell trouble for GOPers in 2012:
* Hochul relentlessly hammered Corwin for supporting the House Republican plan to turn Medicare into a voucher plan for Americans 55 and younger.
* Tea Party candidate Jack Davis got into the race, running a distant third but siphoning off enough conservative votes to act as a spoiler.
Expecting an extremely close race, Corwin’s campaign earlier yesterday got a court order to clear the way for a recount and a judge’s order likely will delay certification for at least a week.
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) celebrated his party’s upset victory.
“There are two reasons we won tonight. Kathy Hochul is a great candidate and . . . New Yorkers of all political persuasions do not want to destroy Medicare,” he said.
“This election was a strong referendum on both.”
The 26th District — which covers a swath of rural and suburban towns between Rochester and Buffalo — is among the most conservative in the state.
It was only one of four New York districts that favored Republican John McCain over President Obama in 2008.
But Corwin, a state assemblywoman and a multimillionaire, saw her popularity drop after expressing support for the plan crafted by House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) to strip billions of dollars from Medicare and recast it as a voucher program.
Corwin said she supported the Ryan plan as a way to ensure the solvency of Medicare for future generations.
But she later said that, if elected, she was open to tweaking it.
Hochul, the Erie County clerk, cast herself as the protector of Medicare in a district with a large population of voters over 55.
The election drew attention and more than $2 million from the national parties and several independent groups.
The election was held to succeed Republican Rep. Chris Lee, who resigned in February after shirtless photos he sent to a woman he tried to pick up on Craigslist were published online.