A fiscally conservative group that was a major force behind Doug Hoffman's 2009 House campaign came out with rankings that — hold onto your seats, folks — ranks New York's House Republicans more favorably than its Democrats.

Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle, R-Onondaga Hill, was an A-student, getting a 92 percent rating. That was far and away the highest ranking of any rep in New York.

Rep. Bill Owens, D-Plattsburgh, got an 11 percent rating, prompting an opponent to pounce.

The rankings "examine legislative actions" including lower taxes, repeal of the estate tax, replacing the tax code and "Social Security reform with personal retirement accounts."

Mr. Owens has a 13 percent lifetime rating from the group, which poured $1 million into Mr. Hoffman's efforts to beat him.

Thousands of readers like you have made Northern New York Newspapers the number one ranked website* for local news and sports coverage in the north country.

You can continue on to this article in a few seconds, or you can visit one of our websites:

• Watertown Daily Times
• The Ogdensburg Journal
• Daily Courier-Observer