Defying a wave of Republican victories across the nation, U.S. Representative Tim Bishop of Southampton, a Democrat, appears to have narrowly won his fifth term of office on Tuesday, marking the end of a bitter race that was watched nationally for its implications on the makeup of Congress for the next two years.
With all of the election districts reported as of early Wednesday morning, unofficial results from the Suffolk County Board of Elections show that Mr. Bishop defeated his Republican opponent, Randy Altschuler, by a margin of only about 3,500 votes. Mr. Bishop won 51 percent of the vote, to Mr. Altschuler’s 49 percent, and came just short of declaring victory in an early morning speech to scores of supporters who packed into the ballroom of the Marriott Hotel in Islandia.
“Well, it was a little closer than I would have liked,” said Mr. Bishop, 60, as he began his speech, shortly before 1 a.m., as the crowd cheered. “But I like where I am, and I’d rather be here than where he is.”
More than 9,500 absentee ballots are still outstanding, according to the Board of Elections. For Mr. Altschuler to pull off a last-minute win, he would have to take about 6,500 of those ballots, or approximately 68 percent. While mathematically possible, that would be a stunning turnaround: absentee ballots usually break in roughly the same proportions as the Election Day ballots, according to Ivan Young, assistant to Anita S. Katz, the Democratic commissioner of the Suffolk County Board of Elections.
The final results of the election, including absentee ballots, could take weeks to count, Mr. Young said.
Mr. Altschuler did not concede after the last unofficial results came in early Wednesday morning. He left Watermill Caterers in Smithtown and headed to his campaign office shortly before 1 a.m., after briefly thanking his supporters. “I am so overwhelmed by their dedication,” Mr. Altschuler said before heading to his office.
“We don’t have enough information to decide what to do,” said Rob Ryan, Mr. Altschuler’s spokesman. “We’re going to speak with an election lawyer to figure out the next step.”
Mr. Ryan said he heard reports that there were some problems with the new voting machines, forcing election workers to count some ballots by hand.
Mr. Altschuler, 39, a business owner from St. James, poured more than $2.7 million of his own money into the race and gave Mr. Bishop the most credible challenge of his eight-year political career. Still, it appears that he fell short in his attempt to wrest the 1st Congressional District seat from the incumbent. Just two years ago, Mr. Bishop trounced his Republican opponent, Lee Zeldin, winning by a margin of 58 percent to 42 percent. Mr. Zeldin won a seat in the State Senate on Tuesday.
Mr. Bishop faced a storm of challenges this election cycle, on top of his usual task of running as a Democrat in a district that traditionally leans Republican. Mr. Altschuler outspent Mr. Bishop by a wide margin, and the political atmosphere across the nation was treacherous for incumbents and Democrats. Republicans won control of the U.S. House of Representatives from Democrats on Tuesday, meaning that Mr. Bishop will be working in a new political environment in Washington, D.C.
In a testament to the tightness and importance of the race, former President Bill Clinton stumped for Mr. Bishop during a “get out the vote” rally at Stony Brook University in late October, less than one week before Election Day. A poll by the Siena Research Institute released on October 13 showed Mr. Bishop with a 12 percentage point lead over Mr. Altschuler, although the results on Election Day were much closer.
Audrey Kubetin, Mr. Bishop’s press secretary, said campaign efforts in recent days centered mostly on getting supporters to the polls. She said campaign staffers and volunteers knocked on almost 85,000 doors and made more than 88,000 phone calls since Saturday. “This thing comes down to turnout, and we’ve been working really hard to make sure our supporters get out and vote, get out of the house,” she said.
According to the Suffolk County Board of Elections, 42.24 percent of registered voters cast ballots in the congressional race—less than two years ago, a year when the presidential race brought in more voters, but in line with other off-year congressional votes.
Throughout Tuesday evening and into the early hours of Wednesday morning, a crowd of Mr. Bishop’s supporters gathered at the Marriott Hotel in Islandia to watch the results come in on a large screen. The race remained tight for hours, and the atmosphere in the room remained tense.
When Mr. Bishop finally took the podium, he thanked his family and staff, and said it was “hard to be ebullient” when so many other Democrats lost their seats on both the local and national stages. “What we have to do is dig in and fight back,” he said.
Oh where oh where Has Mr Z Been ??? Very quite the last few days
Progress you seem shy today as well, And Phil, High hat Sh Native Hellooo anyone home
Dagdavid,peoplefirst,nelli.....Anyone?
fcmcmann ,yearrounder you all ok?
And I had to laugh, by the way I think I can see 2012 from my window!
Like Reply Report as inappropriateBy joe hampton (376) on Nov 2, 10 7:12 PM
A generation calculated a calendar.
I'm sure the Mayans threw one H**L of a party when it was completed, and figured they didn't have to start the next one for at least twenty thousand years.
That's all it is. The singular achievement, of possibly generations of a society.
National Debt increase by POTUS in constant dollars:
Under Carter: 42%
Under Reagan: 189%
Bush Act 1: 55.6%
Clinton: 36%
Bush Act 2: 89%
Numbers tend not to lie, especially when accurate. Republicans talk a good game, but all they have is TALK.
I hope we don't get fooled again...
I imagine that thrill is maybe not quite so tingly on your leg anymore,"
I feel like the Nightmare is over! I feel better Its been a long 2 years.
First time since 1932 that 60 sits have changed in a midterm ,plus we will have functional control of the senate without the ownership.Healthcare hurt them bad, It was a crime aganst democracy and the people rejected the redistribution ...more of wealth, union control and big Government
You couldn't push through your leftist agenda with a fillibuster proof majority, and we're supposed to believe you're happy that the democrats lost the house and have an even smaller majority in the Senate?
Since you seem to be on the edge of cognitive breakdown, I would advise some standard liberal catharsis as therapy...start by name calling (oh, wait, you got that with "baggers", burn an American flag, embrace Al Queda and whisper in thier ear "I understand, I hate ...more America too", and if you see any real American in a uniform around Zabreski, be sure to call them baby killers, just like Harry Reid did.
From another planet...
Krauthammer: 'Obama Agenda is Dead,' 'He Tried a 2-Year Experiment in Hyper-Liberalism and the Country Has said No'
God Bless America.
Seems people learn more of the former, however. It would explain the "close call".
As I recall, it was a Republican controlled Congress that lit the fuse for the "Great Recession"...
Let's keep a grip on reality, people!
Let’s remember that we are one people, and we have more similarities than differences.
God bless this great nation of ours!
However, since it is quite clear as a result of the National Healthcare Bill that no legislation can be passed on Capitol Hll without at least 60 senators ...more voting "Yea", we are in for two years of stagnation, at the end of which the Republicans will run a presidential candidate criticizing Obama as a "do-nothing" President.
BISHOP HAS NOT YET WON. THIS RACE IS NOT OVER.
For all the toiling Turkey Bridge did, sounds like it wasn't enough.
The Staff of Yessiree News is about to call this race in favor of Altschuler.
How ...more great is this!?
Its the media that cat calls the deficit all the time, but the the math can be reflected in anyway those with the paper and pen would like.
At the end ...more of the day, we know when the indonesian muslim president spends more of our money than he takes in. And we know that means he is coming to look for more. Its somehow bad when the church of jimmy falwell does it, but somehow perfectly acceptable when the DC based K street church of the indonesian muslim does it. But the kybosh has been put on that too yesterday.
That constant in the above equation, is linked to the worth of a dollar, in 2010.
This above is your brain, without book learnin'.
Any questions?
Since January 1972, it has increased 431.84%.
Since January 1995, it has increased 45.34%.
In 1920, a dollar was worth a dollar, in 1972, it was worth 25 cents by comparison. In 1998, my dollar was worth 6 cents, compared to my father's quarter.
Any questions?
CSO, CDO, fiscal instruments squared, where do you think 500 trillion dollars of currency came from, that only realistically existed on paper, and devaiued our currency?
That's right, you guessed it, the black file cabinet called the derivatives market. I have a great book for you to read, it came out yesterday. Its called "Griftopia: Bubble Machines, Vampire Squids, and the Long Con That Is Breaking America".
Here is a link to an exclusive ...more excerpt:
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/matt-taibbi/blogs/TaibbiData_May2010/222723/83512
Gets ALOT of good reviews...
Its true that NY is all blue and if you look at its financial state that is nothing to be proud of. In case you are living under a rock the rest of the country spoke Tuesday and they dont like the Kool aid the left has been selling. You have had unprecendated ...more 2 years to ramrod anything you want down your throats and all we have gotten is more massive spending programs that the PEOPLE don't want. By the way the Mets suck
With every bubble, dotcom, housing, whatever, money was printed by Greenspan, and the Fed. The TARP bailout was NOT THE ONLY ONE.
Had they just let failure occur, left legislation against conflicts of interest in place (Citibank, as we know it would not exist) most likely we would not be where we are now, and TARP would not have been necessary. Our "GVT" not only allowed this to happen, they ENABLED IT.
Anybody else?
Not to throw stones, but maybe joe hampton should sit down for twenty minutes, and read this. Because you know, the rest of us just don't work hard enough. That's the problem, you know. We're just not doing "something" right, and that's the reason for our "failure".
I got some news for everyone out there. Gen X has not failed.
The world has failed.
~ Bill Moyers (11.03.10)
Rather than trying to convince the immovable and myopic right to attempt to swallow the bitter truth, pass this article on to every reasonable person you know. A must read.
As these boards have become overrun by ignorance, fear and hate, I am visiting less and less. When I do visit, however, I have vowed not to respond to those with whom I violently disagree, but instead ...more to have a productive dialogue with those who share progressive views. I encourage you and Mr. Z to join me in marginalizing the ranters and promoting sanity and reason.
for you to think everyone is stupid is a good thing...if you were calling everyone geniuses ...more today, i would be very worried. god bless.
These people have the delusion they KNOW what our "Founding Fathers" would have wanted for this country. Remember that post some time back about the "deep seated psychological desire to be on the side that's 'winning' "?
Here you go:
The article is excerpted from Hodge’s new book, The Mendacity of Hope. In it he describes how America’s founding generation especially feared the kind of corruption ...more that occurs when the private ends of a narrow faction succeed in capturing the engines of government. James Madison and many of his contemporaries knew this kind of corruption could consume the republic. Looking at history a tragic lens, they thought the life cycle of republics – their degeneration into anarchy, monarchy, or oligarchy – was inescapable. And they attempted to erect safeguards against it, hoping to prevent private and narrow personal interests from overriding those of the general public.
As Citibank how well their Oligarchy is going.
Incidentally, you are most likely not stupid per se, just a dumba$$ at this juncture.
But, then again, Independent, not to be confused with the Republican "Independence Party", seems to be one...
by being called a gullible dumbass by phillys and mr. z....i know how great things must be for ourside.
regardless of what i think...i would never actually write...''i think all democrats are dumb''. it is just too simplistic, embarassing and youthful to write such a ridiculous ...more statement in a forum in which you need to earn credibility. but keep it up, i could observe your anger all day. love it. that is the surest sign that we are being successful.
Ironic how the Republicans deregulated the market, and it imploded within ten years. You are also defending policies and loopholes that allow for coroporations to pay a 0% tax rate, billionare hedge fund managers to NOT pay Social Security taxes on their interest based income, nothing but ...more T-Bill notes in the Social Securtiy coffers (thanks to Reagan's policy) and in general, the result is the same style defecit spending that transpired under Reagan. The burning question is, what "lesser evil" have you chosen?
Good luck with that for all of us.
http://www.cftc.gov/opa/press98/opa4142-98.htm
yessiree, you don't know it yet, but YOU are mentioned in the first chapter!!
Well, not so much you, but what "party" you supposedly subscribe to. It was almost frightening. You were described to a tee by Matt Taibbi. It was like reading a psych profile, that picked the "Tea Party" to peices from it's inception on MSNBC, and really exposes the fallacy it is.
You ...more probably wouldn't read it, or listen for that matter anyway...
And no tim bishop has won yet. Stressed!?
I thought so...
Same old, same old. Forget all the " that a boy's", and condemn someone for major problems there is little real control over.
Right...
Ask Greenspan, if he'll even admit it. You cannot disallow failure, inject capital, reduce interest rates, and expect inflation not to take of like the SR-71 Blackbird.
Where is all that unsustainable capital injected by Greenspan? Oh, that's right, he raised interest rates SEVENTEEN times before he left office, and ARM mortgages he thoroughly backed destroyed the housing market with the increase in rates.
Ask Citibank how ...more the Oligarchy is these days...
ARM mortgages and more importantly subprime mortgages were created due to Clintons expansion of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. These lending instruments allowed people to buy homes short term who could not afford it long term. Clinton was in charge and endorsed these policies. The time bomb occured on Bush's watch and he too should be held accountable
razza5350, ...more the injection of capital was actually required by the Obama administration, otherwise, we'd all be standing in line outside of soup kitchens right now. The problem is that those responsible were not punished, skimmed millions of the TARP process, and continued to pay themselves handsomely for FAILURE. On a wholesale level. The really big problem, is that anyone EVER listened to anything Alan Greenspan ever spewed.
We still have Rand/Greenspan disciples running the Treasury. We still have drastic disparity. We still have the cost of an education radically out of control. We still have for profit health care, and for profit universities. We allow speculators to drive up the cost of everything, from a bottle of milk, to a tank of gas. Regardless of the state of supply (THAT should worry you). We still have an unregulated financial market loaded with conflicts of interest. We have foreign oil emirates buying up parts of our country, with your $4 a gallon gas money, silently, and slowly as long as we let them (e.g., Chicago parking meters).
Diversity was made a dirty word some time back, but it's what we need. We don't need "Mega Banks" like Citi, we need more local banks like BNB. We don't need MEGA anything. The only reason we have "too big to fail", is they have always had a net from the taxpayers, with no risk, but bitch the whole way about needing to "hedge" it. We NEED competition. The secret to proper "free market" capitalism is not one massive corporation, but a country full of "little guys". It just might work.
http://www.amazon.com/Griftopia-Machines-Vampire-Breaking-America/dp/0385529953
Just, wow...
He will also be protected by a fleet of 34 warships, including an aircraft carrier, which will patrol the sea lanes off the Mumbai coast during his two-day stay there beginning Saturday.
Arrangements have been put in place for emergency ...more evacuation, if needed.
Obama is expected to fly by a helicopter -- Marine One -- from the city airport to the Indian Navy's helibase INS Shikra at Colaba in south Mumbai.
From there, he will drive down in Lincoln Continental -- the Presidential limousine -- to the nearby the Taj Hotel.
Two jets, armed with advanced communication and security systems, and a fleet of over 40 cars will be part of Obamas convoy.
Around 800 rooms have been booked for the President and his entourage in Taj Hotel and Hyatt.
The President will have a security ring of American elite Secret Service, which are tasked to guard the President, along with National Security Guards (NSG) and personnel from central paramilitary forces and local police in Mumbai and Delhi.
Similar arrangements will be in place in Delhi, with the Air Force One to be kept in all readiness throughout Obama's stay here from Sunday afternoon to Tuesday morning.
Maurya Hotel, where the President will stay, has already been swarmed by American security personnel and protective measures have been put in place.
Security drills are already been carried out at the hotel as well as Rajghat which he will visit.
Sources said 13 heavy-lift aircraft with high-tech equipment, three helicopters and 500 US security personnel have arrived in India ahead of Obama's visit.
The US security has also brought interception and obstruction device, sniffer dogs, rescue gadgets.
Apart from Obama's Air Force One, a few private luxury jets carrying top American corporate leaders, who are part of Obama entourage, are also expected to arrive in India in next 2-3 days.
All high-rise buildings in the vicinity of Mumbai's Taj Mahal hotel and Delhi's Maurya Sheraton hotel, where the US President will stay, are being sanitised and security personnel will be positioned on rooftops to prevent any air-borne attack.
The military is even building a kilometer long tunnel near Mani Bhavan.All so he can visit a mosque and a Gandhi museum
That was a 180 degree switch in 1 day. Oh, you bet I'm happy. And, now, I'm off. But someday I'll be back, when the country needs me again.
My last bit of advice to Boehner? Tell 'em to shove the olive branch!
God Bless to you (yes, even philatome) and May God Continue to Bless the United States of ...more America.
Let’s remember that we are one people, and we have more similarities than differences.
God bless Tim Bishop and this great nation of ours!
It is time in my opinion for everyone to pick up his or her oar, and to start rowing in the same direction.
We have problems to solve!
Face it, Bishop was the better candidate. Even with the millions of dollars that Randy outsourcer poured into this race he and you couldn't win.
That is because Tim Bishop is a man of the the people and he will continue to work hard for the people of the 1st Congressional district in New York.
Congratulations Congressman Bishop!
"Washington - Losing elections is an occupational hazard for politicians, so there's no need to get all weepy about the Democratic officeholders who suddenly find themselves with more time to spend with their families. It would be more appropriate to shed a tear or two for the future of the country, what with the tea party brigade coming to town. Then again, I was pretty gloomy after the 1994 midterms and yet it turned out that the world did ...more not actually end.
President Obama still has the ability to set the nation's agenda -- and also the power of the veto, in case of emergency. Harry Reid is still Senate majority leader -- and after the way he punched and scrapped his way to victory, who wants to mess with him? As for John Boehner, he'll soon learn that his new job requires a more extensive vocabulary than "no.""
PERIOD.
By pitting us against eachother...
We can't go back to the gold standard, the world, and the "free market" are too far gone from it, to do it in less than a century.
They are fighting a 1960's battle, in a world run by 21st century crooks."
Do we now have to be hearing, blah,blah, blah, that "socialism" is the big,big bug-a-boo? Spare us your ignorance and easily conned personality.
Personally, we two seniors are rooted in a Judeo/Christian view toward other people and life. We can hardly stomach the sad results of 02Nov.
Hooray for Bishop and other ...more brave politicians who care about others!
/s/ "picky seniors"--ca. 2:40p.m., 11/5/10
Though I may seem like a "crackpot", I understand you know them, but not me.
Period.
Nice to see that smug Olbermann get suspended. Hopefully his brother Maddow will be next and Mr Z a bonafide independent.what is the world coming too.
Above is an interesting article on the various polls, their historic accuracy, and their political bias.
I would still like somebody to direct me to the McLaughlin Poll that had the District 1 contest a close race.
The Siena Poll that had Bishop ahead by 12 points was one of only two that were taken in the eleven months prior to the election in District 1. (Unless there was one by McLaughlin.)
Originally published: November 5, 2010 6:20 PM
Now, there are some facts...
And there are alot more of them, than there are of you...
Peace on Earth.