Hochul tops Corwin in upstate House vote

BUFFALO -- Democratic nominee Kathy Hochul won a special election Tuesday for a U.S. House seat upstate, The Associated Press said, following a campaign in which she spotlighted her opposition to a Republican plan to privatize Medicare.

With 71 percent of the vote counted Tuesday night, the AP tally showed Hochul with 48 percent to 42 percent for Republican Jane Corwin, and 8 percent for Jack Davis, running on the tea party ballot line.

The 26th District runs from suburban Buffalo to suburban Rochester. It traditionally has been represented by Republicans -- they outnumber Democrats by about 30,000 in the district.

The race was closely watched for its implications on national politics. Len Lenihan, a Democratic county chairman in the district, had said before yesterday's vote that a win by Hochul, 52, would be a "major upheaval" that would send "a real message to the Republicans in Congress that the Medicare proposal is deadly."

The candidates for the vacant seat made a final push for votes yesterday in what was seen as a referendum on the GOP plan to transform Medicare.

Corwin, a state assemblywoman and a multimillionaire, was the early favorite. But she saw her lead evaporate in recent weeks. Her popularity dropped after expressing support for a plan crafted by House Budget chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) to strip billions from Medicare and recast it as a voucher program.

Corwin said she supported the Ryan plan as a way to ensure the solvency of Medicare for future generations but later said she was open to tweaking it if elected.

She voted with her husband and daughter about 9 a.m. at the Clarence Fire Hall in suburban Buffalo.

"It's been three months since we've had a voice in Washington," Corwin said. "There have clearly been some very big issues that have come up that are important to the people in the district."

Hochul, the Erie County clerk, cast herself as the protector of Medicare in a district with a large population of voters over 55.

She was greeting voters at a restaurant in Amherst, another Buffalo suburb, within an hour of the 6 a.m. start of voting. "We don't have the enrollment advantage, but I'm going to keep fighting 'til the very last minute," she said.

The special election was to succeed Republican Rep. Chris Lee, who resigned in February after shirtless photos he sent to a woman were published online.

Davis, the tea party candidate, was seen in a weekend poll drawing enough votes to affect the close race -- as he did, according to early results.