In a statement released earlier today, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo called for a special election on Sept. 13 to replace former U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner, who stepped down on June 16 after being involved in an embarrassing “sexting” scandal.
New York’s 9th congressional district, which includes parts of Brooklyn and Queens, is considered solidly Democratic. Barack Obama captured 55% of the vote in the district during the 2008 presidential election.
The winner of the Sept. 13 special election will serve out the remainder of Weiner’s term, through January 2013, but may not have the seat much longer than that since the ninth district is reportedly being targeted for elimination when New York loses two seats in the U.S. House through redistricting next year.
According to several sources, state assemblymen Rory I. Lancman and David Weprin and former New York City Council member Melinda Katz are actively seeking the Democratic nomination to replace the seven-term congressman while businessman Bob Turner, who polled a surprising 40 percent of the vote against Weiner in 2010, and Eric Ulrich, a 26-year-old city councilman from Queens, are reportedly pursuing the Republican nomination.
Elizabeth Holtzman, a former congresswoman whose role on the House Judiciary committee during the Watergate hearings made her something of a household name in American politics, has also been mentioned as a possibility to replace Weiner.
Holtzman, 69, won a citywide race for New York City Comptroller in 1989, but was soundly defeated in a runoff primary while seeking a second term in 1993. She also lost a couple of bids for the U.S. Senate, including narrowly losing to Republican Al D’Amato in 1980 — a loss partially blamed on the candidacy of Sen. Jacob Javits, who continued to run on the now-defunct Liberal Party ticket after losing the Republican nomination to the conservative D’Amato.
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