Not unexpected, but miserable news nonetheless:
Republican Ann Marie Buerkle holds a 567-vote lead over U.S. Rep. Dan Maffei in the 25th Congressional District race after Wayne County election officials released their unofficial tally of absentee votes today.
Buerkle added 269 votes to her lead after getting 790 votes to Maffei’s 521 in the absentee vote tally in Wayne County. Elections officials in Wayne County completed the tally today and posted the results on their Web site [PDF].
With those votes in, the total unofficial vote count for the entire district stands at 104,374 for Buerkle and 103,807 for Maffei, who is seeking his second term in Congress.
Maffei can still ask for a hand recount of all ballots, and there are some other challenged ballots whose status has not been resolved yet. But unless something truly miraculous happens, this one is all but over. Truly a terrible loss, and one that few saw coming, but we can hope that Maffei stages a comeback some time soon.
NY/PA will be fertile ground fro some takebacks in 2012 even after re-districting. Its not like Maffei winning actually strengthens Dems in this district in any way. A better candidate in 2012 will win this in a walk.
Well, I hope Maffei runs again in 2012, and if they are someone better, the primary is the right moment for see it.
Was he just asleep on the job?
The sad news is that while Lee and Reed are in line with Reynolds and Houghton/Kuhl, Buerkle is way to the right of where Jim Walsh was. Redistricting should be able to take care of her though.
Does anyone know whether Maffei is considering asking for a recount? Who pays in that event?
I know you guys like Maffei for his ideology and character, but why are you so anxious to run him again in 2012? He came up short in a Kerry district in 2006 when Arcuri, Gillibrand, and Hall all won in Bush districts, and after winning against mediocre opposition in 2008, he lost to a B-lister this year. Wouldn’t Democrats be better off running someone new, of similar ideology, who might be a better campaigner and lock this district down in 2012 and beyond? There must be a fairly strong bench in the Syracuse area.
Depending on how its drawn, possibly Acrui and Maffei might be located in the same district, since Dewitt is not in Syracuse proper, since most likely an upstate district have to be eliminated. My guess is NY-29 will merge with Lee’s.
It’s all horseshoes and hand grenades until the congressional districts are redrawn and released.