memeorandum: Bloomberg Wins 3rd Term as Mayor in Unexpectedly Close Race (New York Times)

8:30 AM ET, November 4, 2009

Top Items:

HOFFMAN CLOSING ON OWENS — Democrat ahead of Conservative by 2,512 votes — Democrat Bill Owens is leading in the 23rd Congressional District race. — The Plattsburgh attorney has 50,884 votes compared to Conservative Doug Hoffman, a Lake Placid CPA, with 47,166 votes.

Discussion: The Daily Politics, Open Left, JOSHUAPUNDIT, the albany project, Gateway Pundit, Riehl World View, Swampland, Stop The ACLU, Talking Points Memo, MyDD and Hotline On Call

David Weigel / The Washington Independent:

NY-23: Watertown Mayor: 'It's Over' — SARANAC LAKE, N.Y. - I caught Watertown, N.Y., Mayor Jeff Graham, who endorsed NY-23 Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman this weekend, looking very glum at Hoffman's election party. I asked him what happened in Jefferson County, where Watertown is located …

Discussion: Hot Air, DownWithTyranny!, Taegan Goddard's … and Hotline On Call

Alexander Burns / The Politico:

GOP sweeps gov races; Dem wins NY — Republican gubernatorial candidates racked up major wins for the GOP in Virginia and New Jersey Tuesday night as Democrats scored a single victory in a special congressional election in upstate New York. — Former Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell …

Discussion: CNN, Clusterstock, Left Coast Rebel, The Nation, And So it Goes in Shreveport, The Reaction, Taylor Marsh and JOSHUAPUNDIT

New York Times:

G.O.P. Wins Two Key Governors' Races; Bloomberg Prevails in a Close Contest — Republicans swept contests for governor in New Jersey and Virginia on Tuesday as voters went to the polls filled with economic uncertainty, dealing President Obama a setback and building momentum …

Discussion: The Hill, Guardian, DownWithTyranny!, Los Angeles Times, Prairie Weather, The Confluence, Libertarianism, from A to Z, Harry's Place, Truthdig and marbury

Glenn Harlan Reynolds / New York Post:

The Obama magic has faded — All politics is local, they say, and Tuesday's off-off-year elections certainly had their local angles. Jon Corzine has been a terrible governor even by the undemanding standards of terribly governed New Jersey. Creigh Deeds, though he looked …

Discussion: Runnin' Scared and Betsy's Page

Tom Bevan / Real Clear Politics:

Election Night Live Blog — Comment and analysis on tonight's elections in Virginia, New Jersey, and New York: — 12:02 — FOX declares the race for Owens. With 71% in, Maine looks to be overriding the legislature's decision to allow gay marriage in the state, though it's still too close to call.

Discussion: The Fix, Blue Virginia, AMERICAblog News, Power Line, The Atlantic Politics Channel and Politics Nation

Dan Balz / Washington Post:

Gubernatorial contests serve as warning to Democrats — Off-year elections can be notoriously unreliable as predictors of the future, but as a window on how the political landscape may have changed in the year since President Obama won the White House, Tuesday's Republican victories in Virginia …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Althouse, Commentary, Taylor Marsh and New York Magazine

Robert Stacy McCain / The Other McCain:

NY23 Election Results HQ; UPDATE: Team Hoffman predicts ‘close’ victory; UPDATE II: Numbers in the war room; UPDATE III: HOFFMAN CONCEDES — 12:35 a.m. WED. 12/4: “This one was worth the fight,” Doug Hoffman said in his concession speech. “This is only one fight in the battle.”

Discussion: HorseRaceBlog, Michelle Malkin, Ben Smith's Blog, CANNONFIRE, TPM LiveWire, Swampland, Daily Pundit, Nice Deb and Conservatives4Palin.com

WCBS-TV:

N.J. Goes Red With Christie Victory — NEW YORK (CBS) ― In the end, all the stumping in the world from the President of the United States wasn't going to stop regime change in New Jersey's highest office. — Republican Chris Christie ended Democrat Jon Corzine's four-year run in Trenton with a narrow victory on Tuesday.

Discussion: The Corner on National …, Shot in the Dark, Classical Values, Wizbang, NO QUARTER, Scared Monkeys and Confederate Yankee

David Weigel / The Washington Independent:

NY-23: [UPDATE] Hoffman Accuses Democrats of ‘Stealing the Election’ — PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. — At a short press availability in his campaign office here, NY-23 Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman said that a GOTV volunteer's tires had been slashed, and all but blamed Democrats for the dirty trick.

Discussion: Erick's blog, Washington Wire, Runnin' Scared, MyDD, Crooks and Liars, Daily Kos, The Moderate Voice, New York Magazine, TBogg and Hullabaloo

Elizabeth Benjamin / The Daily Politics:

Police Called To NY-23 Polling Sites (Updated) — It's getting ugly out there. — I just got off the phone with former state Democratic Chairwoman June O'Neill, who informed me the police had been called to at least two polling sites in St. Lawrence County due to overzealous electioneering …

Discussion: The Other McCain, Crooks and Liars, Nice Deb, The Washington Independent, Wonkette, Eunomia, Campaign Trail, Firedoglake, Hot Air, Hullabaloo, Hotline On Call, TPMDC and Left Coast Rebel

Erick Erickson / Erick's blog:

In NY-23, Conservatives Win — The race has now been called for Democrat Bill Owens. — This is a huge win for conservatives. — “Whaaaa. . . ?” you say. — There are two big victories at work in New York's 23rd Congressional District. — First, the GOP now must recognize …

Discussion: Pajamas Media, The Plum Line, TBogg, WSYR-TV, American Spectator, Flopping Aces, Whiskey Fire, Dump Dede, RedState, Big Government, Campaign Trail, Celtic Diva's Blue Oasis and Hot Air

Gary Langer / ABCNEWS:

'09 Exit Polls: Voters Approve of Obama, Wary of Economy — McDonnell Projected to Win VA; New Jersey Polls Close, Begin Count — Vast economic discontent marked the mood of Tuesday's off-year voters, portending potential trouble for incumbents generally and Democrats in particular in 2010.

Discussion: The Fix, Firedoglake, Outside The Beltway, MyDD, The Big Picture, Blue Virginia, CNN, Daily Kos, Pundit & Pundette, Big Government, YID With LID, Pajamas Media and Daily Pundit

CBS News:
Exit Polls in Va. and N.J.: The Obama (Non) Factor?

Discussion: CNN, Real Numbers and Other Musings, Hot Air, The Hill, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Shot in the Dark, Don Surber and Taegan Goddard's …

Jeremy W. Peters / New York Times:
Conservative Loses Upstate House Race in Blow to Right

Discussion: JammieWearingFool, American Power, Wall Street Journal, American Street and Liberal Values

Ian Urbina / New York Times:
In Virginia, McDonnell Ends Democrats' Streak

Discussion: Washington Post, Guardian, The Page and The New Republic

The Politico:
Gibbs: Obama ‘not watching returns’

Discussion: The Confluence, Big Government, Commentary and protein wisdom

Associated Press:
Republican Christie captures NJ governor's race

Discussion: The Washington Independent

Hotline On Call:
NJ GOV: Christie Crushing Among Indies

Discussion: Associated Press, Sister Toldjah, NewsMax.com, JammieWearingFool, Talking Points Memo, Hot Air, Newsweek Blogs and National Review Online

Valerie Bauman / Associated Press:
Democrat wins House seat in heavily GOP area in NY

Discussion: The Powers That Be, Outside The Beltway and Top of the Ticket

Josh Kraushaar / The Politico:
Owens preserves bright spot for Dems

Discussion: The Other McCain and marbury

Daniel Stone / Newsweek Blogs:
Why Creigh Deeds Lost Virginia

Discussion: Associated Press and Macsmind

BBC:
Republicans win key US elections

Discussion: the talking dog and Don Surber

Dave / Media Matters for America:
Media in 2001: Off-year elections have little national significance

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Hullabaloo

Michelle Malkin:
The GOP elite's $1 million object lesson — and the message of NY-23

Discussion: Firedoglake, Right Klik and And So it Goes in Shreveport

Mark Preston / CNN: Analysis: Elections not a referendum on Obama

Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
An independent move to GOP

Discussion: The Strata-Sphere

Ben Tribbett / Firedoglake:
Election 2009: What Happened in Virginia?

Discussion: Blue Virginia, Daily Kos and Not Larry Sabato

CNN:
Exit poll: In Virginia, it's all about the economy

Discussion: The Politico, Associated Press, The Swamp, Scared Monkeys, The Opinionator, The Page and Weekly Standard

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:

NBC reverses Bloomberg call — Wow: This is looking to be a very long night for the billionaire-incumbent-front- runner in New York. — With more than a third of the votes in, it's a 1-point race. NBC called it for Bloomberg — but just reversed that call.

New York Times:

Bloomberg Wins 3rd Term as Mayor in Unexpectedly Close Race — Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg pulled out a narrow re-election victory on Tuesday, as voters angry over his maneuver to undo the city's term limits law and his extravagant campaign spending provided an unexpected lift …

Discussion: New York Post, Runnin' Scared, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Daily Politics, CNN, Indecision Forever, Michael Calderone's Blog, The Confluence, Democratic Strategist, The Page and New York Magazine

Ben Smith / The Politico:

Bloomberg survives scare — Mayor Mike Bloomberg's stunningly narrow re-election in New York was a moral defeat for the billionaire incumbent, and a profound embarrassment for a Democratic establishment - from the White House on down — that abandoned his rival, City Comptroller Bill Thompson, as a hopeless loser.

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's … and Swampland

Abby Goodnough / New York Times:

Maine Voters Repeal Law Allowing Gay Marriage — In a stinging setback for the national gay-rights movement, Maine voters narrowly decided to repeal the state's new law allowing same-sex marriage. — With 87 percent of precincts reporting early this morning, 53 percent of voters had approved the repeal …

Discussion: La Shawn Barber's Corner

Susan M. Cover / pressherald.mainetoday.com:
Mainers vote down gay marriage law

Discussion: Prairie Weather

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Turnout high in Maine

Discussion: pressherald.mainetoday.com, seattlepi.com, Scared Monkeys, ABCNEWS, The Huffington Post, Politics Daily, Los Angeles Times, The Politico, TPM LiveWire, The Moderate Voice, Indecision Forever, CNN, The Daily Dish and AMERICAblog Gay

Clemente Lisi / New York Post:

Former presidents to face off in debate — Bubba and Dubya are going to engage in a presidential debate for the ages. — Former President Bill Clinton and George W. Bush will square off on the same stage at Radio City Music Hall in February as part of a series pitting liberal and conservative thinkers.

Discussion: TPM LiveWire, The Page, Weasel Zippers and MyDD

David Saltonstall / NY Daily News:
Bill Clinton and George W. Bush to debate at Radio City

Discussion: Gothamist, Politics Daily, Raw Story, Truthdig and New York Magazine

Michael Patrick Leahy / TCOT REPORT 2009©:

Hoffman Barnstorms NY 23 in Plane — Rousing Reception in Oswego, where weather has cleared up. — Off to Plattsburgh for evening event. — Turnout in North East Counties of NY 23 Dampened by Rainy Weather — But Central New York Turnout and Weather Both Said to be Good

Watertown Daily Times:
Glitches may delay vote reporting in four St. Lawrence Co. towns

Discussion: The Daily Politics, The Hill, Swing State Project, Hotline On Call and TPMDC

Glenn Garvin / Chicago Tribune:

‘V’ aims at Obamamania — Imagine this. At a time of political turmoil, a charismatic, telegenic new leader arrives virtually out of nowhere. He offers a message of hope and reconciliation based on compromise and promises to marshal technology for a better future that will include universal health care.

Discussion: Stop The ACLU, Taylor Marsh, Gawker, NewsBusters.org, Clayton Cramer's BLOG and Big Hollywood