Weiner's Seat Taken by Republican

The new Rep. Old White Guy (R-NY). Image from source, Huffington Post.

There were two special elections on Tuesday for the House of Representatives. One was Anthony Weiner's seat in Queens/Brooklyn, New York, and one was Dean Heller's in Nevada. Both available seats trace their origins to scandals of a sexual nature (John Ensign and Anthony Weiner). Both were likely very, very low turn-out affairs. Both had some super-duper spending by groups like Karl Rove's American Crossroads on behalf of the Republican candidate.

In both cases, the Republican won. In neither case can it be called a bellwether, in my opinion. Both races were in lonely little special elections with little fanfare. I was struck by AOL/Huffington Post's banner saying "In a stunning upset seen as a rebuke of Obama, a political novice wins the special election to succeed Rep. Weiner."

Really? I'm not stunned. I'm not thrilled, but I'm not stunned. Yes, the New York seat was long a Democratic stronghold, but Weiner pulled out his wiener, and the voters had a spaz.  The Nevada seat was everything but Las Vegas, essentially, long much more red than blue. Maybe this could give the GOP a little bit of buzz? But I wouldn't make too much of it. We are 14 months from the next big election. That's a long time to hang your hat on two odd elections.

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New York Special Election Results: Republican Bob Turner Beats Democrat David Weprin In 9th District

Republicans have scored an upset victory in a House race that started as a contest to replace Rep. Anthony Weiner after he resigned in a sexting scandal but became a referendum on President Barack Obama's economic policies. . .

Read more at: Huffington Post