Republican Chris Gibson took New York's 20th Congressional District by an 12-point margin, unseating Congressman Scott Murphy. The Daily Mail reports:
Chris Gibson, a retired U.S. Army colonel and Ichabod Crane graduate, unseated freshman U.S. Rep. Scott Murphy by a margin of 56 to 44 percent in the 20th Congressional District race Tuesday.
At 1:04 a.m. this morning, the Gibson campaign reported the results as 109,444 votes for Gibson to 87,699 for Murphy with 92 percent of the total in.
Delaware County went solidly for Gibson, the Daily Star reports:
Gibson easily won Delaware County, with 8,012 votes to Murphy's 5,125.
The Gibson victory was part of a nationwide wave of anti-Democrat (and anti-incumbent) sentiment that propelled the GOP into a majority in the House. Republicans also made gains in the Senate, though the Democrats retained a majority there. From the New York Times:
Republicans won at least 58 seats, not including those from some Western states where ballots were still being counted, surpassing the 52 seats the party won in the sweep of 1994.
Incumbent Democrats Paul Tonko (NY-21) and Maurice Hinchey (NY-22) held onto their Congressional seats yesterday. Tonko coasted to victory over challenger Ted Danz; Hinchey beat out opponent George Phillips by six percentage points in a race that is widely being viewed as a referendum on gas drilling in the region.
