Among the biggest surprises from this week’s midterms is the re-election bid of New York Rep. Louise Slaughter, one of the most senior Democrats on Capitol Hill and an outspoken supporter of Obamacare, who finds herself in a stunningly tight race for a 15th term in Congress.
The latest vote count in New York’s 25th Congressional District shows her leading Republican challenger Mark Assini, a local town supervisor, by 650 votes out of about 190,000 cast. Another 1,200 to 1,300 absentee ballots will not be processed and counted until next week, along with an unknown number of affidavit ballots, which people fill out if their names don’t appear on the official voter rolls. The final results will be certified 21 days after the election.
In 2012, Slaughter won a 14 percentage point victory in a hard-fought race against Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks, which many observers thought would be among the toughest challenges of the congresswoman’s political career.
Slaughter had been expected to easily win re-election this year. She raised close to $1 million and spent about $666,000 for her race, a substantial advantage over Assini, who raised about $158,000 and spent $144,000.
Writing in the Rochester City Paper, one local reporter admitted she had thought Slaughter was "unbeatable" because of her "charm, savvy, intelligence, and all-too-rare candor." But now
— with Slaughter clinging to a small lead
—– she believes that "the anti-Obama mood of the country," combined with Slaughter’s refusal to tone down her strong support of Obamacare, worked to Assini’s advantage and helped bring about one of the most competitive races in the country this year.
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