NY-20 Scott Murphy Wins! Michael Steele’s days numbered?

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Democrat Scott Murphy has won the open congressional seat in NY-20. Republican Jim Tedisco finally did the honorable thing and conceded defeat on Friday.

"Earlier today, I called and congratulated Scott Murphy on a hard-fought contest and wished him well as the next Congressman of the 20th Congressional district. I also expressed my willingness to work with him to ensure that the families of Upstate New York are not left behind as our nation strives for economic recovery.

"This was a close campaign every step of the way. Ultimately, it became clear that the numbers were not going our way and that the time had come to step aside and ensure that the next Congressman be seated as quickly as possible. In the interest of the citizens of the 20th Congressional district and our nation, I wish Scott the very best as he works with our new President and Congress to address the tremendous challenges facing our country."

Democrat Scott Murphy came from 21 points down, at 29% in the polls, to win the election. Beltway conventional wisdom was that it would be an easy win for Tedisco, and that Democrats had no chance to win this one. But Scott Murphy did win.

DCCC chairman Chris Van Hollen's statement on the win:

"Congratulations to Congressman-elect Scott Murphy on his remarkable, come-from-behind victory.  In this election, voters responded to Scott Murphy’s record as a successful businessman who helped to create more than 1,000 jobs and his strong support for President Obama’s economic recovery package.

In trying to win the NY-20 special election, the RNC, NRCC, and their Republican allies went all in on the losing gamble that voters would prefer their ‘just say no’ approach to President Obama’s bold plans to get the economy back on track.

Scott Murphy’s victory in this district where Republicans outnumber Democrats by more than 70,000 represents a rejection of the obstructionist agenda and scare tactics that have become the hallmark of House Republicans."  

John Amato at crooksandliars.com comtemplates whether the Michael Steele death watch has begun NY-20 Tedisco concedes! Has the Michael Steele Watch begun?:

According to multiple former high-level RNC staffers familiar with the dynamics involved, Steele is unlikely to survive in the post if favored Republican Jim Tedisco loses his open-seat race to Democrat Scott Murphy. The special election, scheduled for March 31, is to fill a vacancy left when Kirsten Gillibrand took Hillary Clinton’s Senate seat. If Tedisco loses, the ex-staffers said, “Steele is done.” Completely, definitively?

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If Tedisco had won, Republicans and the media would be screaming that Obama's leadership caused the win for him and that the Democratic Party is in BIG trouble. The media would have done segment after segment asking the question, Is President Obama's agenda in trouble? And then he would have had to defend himself over and over again.

Expect a ho-hum response from the media now that Murphy has won a stunning upset in a heavily Republican district – because once again the Beltway conventional wisdom of the media has been proven completely wrong. When they are always wrong, how can they call it "conventional wisdom"? Wouldn't it be just the opposite?