Special election results certified
Rep. William L. Owens, D-Plattsburgh, won the special 23rd Congressional District election by 3,584 votes, according to results certified Tuesday by the state Board of Elections.
Mr. Owens received 73,137 votes, or 48.3 percent of the ballots cast, to edge Conservative Party candidate Douglas L. Hoffman, Lake Placid. Mr. Hoffman received 69,553 votes, or 46 percent of the total.
Republican Dierdre K. Scozzafava, who suspended her campaign three days before Election Day and threw her support to Mr. Owens, received 8,582 votes, or 5.7 percent of the total.
Mr. Owens' largest margin of victory was in St. Lawrence County, which he carried by 4,322 votes. Mr. Hoffman won Lewis and Jefferson counties by 596 and 452 votes, respectively. The Conservative Party candidate received the most votes in seven of 11 counties. Mr. Hoffman's greatest margin of victory was in Oswego County, which he carried by 1,748 votes.
Mr. Owens received 6,589 of his votes on the Working Families Party line — almost twice his margin of victory.
"Bill Owens is in Congress today because he connected with the voters in the north country on the bread and butter economic issues that working families are worried about," said Dan Levitan, a party spokesman. "We are proud that Working Families voters helped put Bill over the top."
Forty-one percent of active voters cast a ballot in the special election, and 38 percent of all registered voters. Turnout in the 2006 congressional race here between former Rep. John M. McHugh, R-Pierrepont Manor, and Democrat Robert J. Johnson, Sackets Harbor, was 40.5 percent of all registered voters.
Mr. Hoffman is considering running again for the seat.
But Robert H. Ryan, his campaign spokesman, said the registered Republican "has no plans at this moment to move" into the district. Residency is not a requirement to run for office.
Mr. Hoffman lives in the neighboring 20th Congressional District. That seat also will be up for election in 2010; it is now held by Rep. Scott Murphy, D-Glens Falls.
