Dems Lose Weiner’s House Seat

In a major upset for Democrats, Republican candidate Bob Turner won the Congressional seat once held by Anthony Weiner in Tuesday evening’s special election.

The district, New York’s 9^th, has historically been heavily Democratic. Prior to Anthony Weiner, now-New York Senator Chuck Schumer and former Vice Presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro both represented the district.

The race, which pitted Turner against Democrat David Weprin, has been interpreted as a referendum on President Obama, particularly the administration’s policies on Israel.

“Israel is America’s only dependable democratic ally in the Middle East,” Turner’s campaign site states. “Obama is wrong to pressure Israel to accept the indefensible pre-1967 war borders.”

The New York election wasn’t the only blow for Democrats Tuesday evening. A special election for a house seat in Nevada yielded a landslide victory for Republican candidate Mark Amodei.

Both parties have scrambled to spin what the elections might mean for 2012.

In a statement, Steve Isreael, the chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee said the results were “not reflective of what will happen in November 2012 when Democratic challengers run against Republican incumbents who voted to end Medicare and cut Social Security while protecting tax loopholes for big corporations and the ultra wealthy.”

Meanwhile, the RNC issued a release warning of “serious implications.”