New York's 9th congressional district special election, 2011
Encyclopedia
A 2011 special election in New York's 9th congressional district was held on September 13, 2011 to fill a seat in the U.S. Congress
for New York's 9th congressional district
, after Representative Anthony Weiner resigned from this seat on June 21, 2011 due to his sexting scandal
. Democratic Party
nominee David Weprin
, a member of the New York State Assembly
, faced Republican
and Conservative Party nominee Bob Turner
, a businessman who unsuccessfully sought the seat in 2010.
The district with over 300,000 registered voters was expected to be eliminated during the 2012 redistricting. It is strongly Democratic
, where registered Democrats
out number Republican
by a 3-to-1 ratio. And until late in the election cycle was considered to be a shoo-in for Weprin
Around midnight on September 14, the Associated Press
called the race for Republican Bob Turner with 70% of precincts reporting and Turner leading Weprin 53 to 47. Turner is the first Republican Congressman to represent this district in 88 years. The last Republican to represent the district was Andrew Petersen
who was elected in the Harding landslide of 1920
.
Andrew Cuomo
called the special election for September 13, concurrent with state primary elections, and with special elections for six vacant seats in the New York State Assembly
. The deadline for the selection and approval of each party's nominee was July 19. Independent candidates also had the opportunity to petition their way onto the ballot collecting 3,500 signatures by July 13, and had a deadline of July 18. The last day for the state and county boards to certify the ballot was July 22.
(Democratic, Republican, Conservative, Working Families, Independence, and Green) had the opportunity to nominate candidates; the Green Party did not nominate a candidate. As the majority of the District lies within the county of Queens
, each party's chairperson of this county chose the nominees: for the Democratic Party, Queens Democratic chairman, Joseph Crowley
, a member of the U.S. House (representing the neighboring ), and for the Republican Party, Queens Republican chairman Phil Ragusa, an accountant
.
, a member of the New York State Assembly
, was announced as the Democratic nominee on July 7, 2011. Weprin does not live in the 9th district but in Holliswood, Queens
in the 5th district. However, as with Kathy Hochul
in the 26th district election
held upstate earlier in the year, this does not disqualify Weprin from seeking or holding the office. Weprin was believed to have been nominated to serve as a placeholder who would not seek re-election should the district be eliminated in the 2012 redistricting.
, former CEO of Multimedia Entertainment
best known for producing the Jerry Springer Show, was chosen as the Republican nominee on July 8, 2011, after Councilman Eric Ulrich
declined to run and Juan D. Reyes backed out of contention. Turner was a candidate for the 9th district in 2010, and was defeated by Weiner by a 39% to 61% margin.
endorsed Democratic nominee David Weprin on July 11.
endorsed Democratic nominee David Weprin on July 10.
organized a one-week petitioning effort to collect the 3,500 signatures necessary to get its candidate, Christopher Hoeppner, onto the special election ballot. Hoeppner and the SWP submitted 7,080 signatures and qualified for the ballot.
and his party. Obama's support, or lack thereof, of Israel
in particular emerged as top issue in the district, whith its thirty some percent Jewish voters.
In early August, a Siena
poll showed Weprin leading with six percent, but four days before the election the poll showed Turner leading by six points, and a poll done by Public Policy Polling
(PPP) two days later showed the same result, which was attributed to the unpopularity of President Obama, who had already underperformed his Democratic predecessors in the district in 2008, and the issue of Israel. PPP's president commented that “If Republicans win this race...it's real-world evidence of how unpopular Barack Obama is right now. Approval polls are one thing, but for the GOP to win in a heavily Democratic district like this would send a strong message about how unhappy voters are”.
By August 24, Weprin reported raising $451,000, double the $204,000 raised by Turner. Weprin had the assistance of labor unions and strong local party organizations, and received additional financial support from national Democrats, who spent more than $600,000 on television advertisements criticizing Turner. Senator Joseph Lieberman endorsed him, Governor Andrew Cuomo
and former President Bill Clinton
recorded automated phone calls to voters for him, and New York Senator Charles Schumer
and City Council speaker Christine Quinn campaigned with him. Turner had the support of former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and former Governor George Pataki
who made appearances with him. He also had the support of Assemblyman Dov Hikind
, and former New York mayor Ed Koch
, both Democrats and Jews.
Weprin, an Orthodox Jew whom Tablet Magazine
describes as “a nebbish-ey mustachioed man with a limp handshake and what appears to be a toupee
” led a gaffe-prone campaign: When asked by the New York Daily News
, he estimated the national debt at $4 trillion instead of $14 trillion, and later blamed Hurricane Irene
as the reason for bowing out of a scheduled debate against Turner, a day after the hurricane had passed. In early September, Weprin's campaign was accused of sending volunteers to spy on Turner's campaign. Members of Weprin's campaign denied involvement. Weprin did not deny the allegations, but denied knowledge, saying "I'm the candidate. I can't control who goes to everything."
Turner portrayed the race as a referendum on President Obama’s policies and linked Weprin to the President. In the debate about the mosque near Ground Zero
, Weprin has defended the "right of the mosque to build on that site". Turner chastised both him and Obama for this attitude in an advertisement, featuring images of the World Trade Center
in flames.
Turner advocated that the federal budget has to be cut by as much as a third, and he also wants to lower taxes. He insisted that the cuts would not necessarily mean reducing benefits for those who depend on government funds, particularly Social Security and Medicare. The New York Times, who endorsed Weprin, said of Turner's position: “[t]hat would take a magician, not a businessman”.
Turner, a Roman Catholic, appealed to Jewish voters by criticizing President Obama’s policies on Israel, and portraying Weprin, who is strongly pro-Israel, as being insufficiently critical of Obama’s stance on Israel. Former New York mayor Ed Koch supported Turner in order to send a message to President Obama “that he can no longer take the Jewish community for granted” and to change what Koch describes as “hostile position on the State of Israel”.
Koch has been accused of supporting Turner out of revenge for Weprin’s father Saul Weprin
’s not supporting him in his race for governor in 1982, but Koch denied this.
Weprin's vote in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage
in the Assembly in June 2011, angered many religious Jews, who make up for about a third of the Jewish voters, and led to some Flatbush
Orthodox rabbis issuing a letter prohibiting Jews from voting for Weprin or donating time or money to his campaign. Turner, who opposes same-sex marriage, avoided making it an issue in the campaign, following Ed Koch's advice. However, he was supported by local rabbi
s as well as Assemblyman Dov Hikind for being against gay marriage.
or Russian immigrants, who tend to be politically conservative. Former New York mayor Ed Koch called the Republican win “a message to President Obama that he cannot throw Israel under a bus with impunity”.
Republican Jewish Coalition
Executive Director Matt Brooks said the outcome had “huge implications for 2012 races in states with large Jewish communities, such as Florida
, Ohio
, and Pennsylvania
”. National Jewish Democratic Council
President David A. Harris
on the other hand stated: “One thing we know beyond the shadow of a doubt is that this election was about many things, but not Israel”. The chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee
, Debbie Wasserman Schultz
, whose congressional district in South Florida comprises many Jewish voters, denied national ramifications saying that the district’s large concentration of Orthodox Jews, who don't vote for Democrats, made it unusual. Despite her claims the evidence shows that the Orthodox community is overwhelmingly democrat
and usually votes that way. One example was in one of the special elections for State Assembly in one of the heavily Orthodox areas in the district where Turner won with 75% of the vote, the Assembly race was won by the Democrat, Michael Simanowitz, with 77%, with most of the people who voted for Simanowitz also crossed over for Turner. Looking at the maps of the district, Turner is the only Republican
elected from the Orthodox areas in the district, who, according to election results, voted overwhelmingly for Democrat candidates for other seats. Election Data shows that the Orthodox still vote heavily Democrats, which hurt Schultz's credibility in her faulty damage control efforts. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu reportedly plans to take a side trip to congratulate Turner while in New York in September 2011.
Turner's victory may have implications on how the political boundaries of the state of New York will be redrawn in 2012. The 9th district was thought to be one of the two districts to be eliminated, as the state is losing two congressional seats because of population changes. Turner said that he will try to stay in Congress, no matter what result the redistricting will produce.
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
for New York's 9th congressional district
New York's 9th congressional district
New York's 9th Congressional District is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives in New York City. It includes parts of southern Brooklyn and south central Queens...
, after Representative Anthony Weiner resigned from this seat on June 21, 2011 due to his sexting scandal
Anthony Weiner sexting scandal
The Anthony Weiner sexting scandal, also dubbed Weinergate, began when Democratic U.S. Congressman Anthony Weiner used the social media website Twitter to send a link to a sexually suggestive picture to a 21-year-old Washington State woman...
. Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
nominee David Weprin
David Weprin
David I. Weprin is a Democratic member of the New York State Assembly, representing District 24 in Queens since 2010. He was previously a member of the New York City Council, representing district 23...
, a member of the New York State Assembly
New York State Assembly
The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature. The Assembly is composed of 150 members representing an equal number of districts, with each district having an average population of 128,652...
, faced Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
and Conservative Party nominee Bob Turner
Bob Turner (politician)
Robert L. "Bob" Turner is the United States Representative for New York's 9th congressional district which straddles parts of Brooklyn and Queens. He is a member of the Republican Party, holding his first public office. He was elected in September 2011 to complete the term of Democrat Anthony...
, a businessman who unsuccessfully sought the seat in 2010.
The district with over 300,000 registered voters was expected to be eliminated during the 2012 redistricting. It is strongly Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, where registered Democrats
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
out number Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
by a 3-to-1 ratio. And until late in the election cycle was considered to be a shoo-in for Weprin
Around midnight on September 14, the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
called the race for Republican Bob Turner with 70% of precincts reporting and Turner leading Weprin 53 to 47. Turner is the first Republican Congressman to represent this district in 88 years. The last Republican to represent the district was Andrew Petersen
Andrew Petersen
Andrew Nicholas Petersen was a U.S. Representative from New York.Born near Thisted, Denmark, Petersen immigrated to the United States in 1873 with his parents, who settled in Boston, Massachusetts. He moved to New York City in 1879. He attended the public schools and learned the patternmaker's...
who was elected in the Harding landslide of 1920
United States presidential election, 1920
The United States presidential election of 1920 was dominated by the aftermath of World War I and a hostile response to certain policies of Woodrow Wilson, the Democratic president. The wartime economic boom had collapsed. Politicians were arguing over peace treaties and the question of America's...
.
Schedule
On July 1, 2011, GovernorGovernor of New York
The Governor of the State of New York is the chief executive of the State of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military and naval forces. The officeholder is afforded the courtesy title of His/Her...
Andrew Cuomo
Andrew Cuomo
Andrew Mark Cuomo is the 56th and current Governor of New York, having assumed office on January 1, 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the 64th New York State Attorney General, and was the 11th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development...
called the special election for September 13, concurrent with state primary elections, and with special elections for six vacant seats in the New York State Assembly
New York State Assembly
The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature. The Assembly is composed of 150 members representing an equal number of districts, with each district having an average population of 128,652...
. The deadline for the selection and approval of each party's nominee was July 19. Independent candidates also had the opportunity to petition their way onto the ballot collecting 3,500 signatures by July 13, and had a deadline of July 18. The last day for the state and county boards to certify the ballot was July 22.
Nomination process
Each of the six qualified New York partiesQualified New York Parties
In New York State, to qualify for automatic ballot access, a party must have received at least 50,000 votes in the previous gubernatorial election. They need not run their own candidate, they can nominate a different party's nominee, and if 50,000 voters vote for that candidate on their party...
(Democratic, Republican, Conservative, Working Families, Independence, and Green) had the opportunity to nominate candidates; the Green Party did not nominate a candidate. As the majority of the District lies within the county of Queens
Queens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
, each party's chairperson of this county chose the nominees: for the Democratic Party, Queens Democratic chairman, Joseph Crowley
Joseph Crowley
Joseph Crowley is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1999. He is the Chairman of the New Democrat Coalition and the Queens County Democratic Party. He is a member of the Democratic Party....
, a member of the U.S. House (representing the neighboring ), and for the Republican Party, Queens Republican chairman Phil Ragusa, an accountant
Certified Public Accountant
Certified Public Accountant is the statutory title of qualified accountants in the United States who have passed the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination and have met additional state education and experience requirements for certification as a CPA...
.
Democratic
David WeprinDavid Weprin
David I. Weprin is a Democratic member of the New York State Assembly, representing District 24 in Queens since 2010. He was previously a member of the New York City Council, representing district 23...
, a member of the New York State Assembly
New York State Assembly
The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature. The Assembly is composed of 150 members representing an equal number of districts, with each district having an average population of 128,652...
, was announced as the Democratic nominee on July 7, 2011. Weprin does not live in the 9th district but in Holliswood, Queens
Holliswood, Queens
Holliswood is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. Holliswood is in east central Queens bounded by the Grand Central Parkway to the north, Francis Lewis Boulevard to the east, Hillside Avenue to the south and 188th Street on the west. The neighborhood is part of Queens Community...
in the 5th district. However, as with Kathy Hochul
Kathy Hochul
Kathleen Courtney "Kathy" Hochul is the Democratic U.S. Representative for New York's 26th congressional district, serving since June 1, 2011. She prevailed in the four-candidate special election of May 24, 2011 to fill the seat left vacant by the resignation of Republican Chris Lee, and is the...
in the 26th district election
New York's 26th congressional district special election, 2011
A 2011 special election in New York's 26th congressional district was held on May 24, 2011 to fill a seat in the U.S. Congress for New York's 26th congressional district. The vacancy was due to the February 2011 resignation of married Republican Chris Lee who resigned amid a scandal involving...
held upstate earlier in the year, this does not disqualify Weprin from seeking or holding the office. Weprin was believed to have been nominated to serve as a placeholder who would not seek re-election should the district be eliminated in the 2012 redistricting.
Republican
Bob TurnerBob Turner (politician)
Robert L. "Bob" Turner is the United States Representative for New York's 9th congressional district which straddles parts of Brooklyn and Queens. He is a member of the Republican Party, holding his first public office. He was elected in September 2011 to complete the term of Democrat Anthony...
, former CEO of Multimedia Entertainment
Multimedia Entertainment
Multimedia Entertainment was an American television production/distribution company originally formed in 1968.-History:...
best known for producing the Jerry Springer Show, was chosen as the Republican nominee on July 8, 2011, after Councilman Eric Ulrich
Eric Ulrich
Eric A. Ulrich is a Republican politician from New York City Borough of Queens.- Early life and education :...
declined to run and Juan D. Reyes backed out of contention. Turner was a candidate for the 9th district in 2010, and was defeated by Weiner by a 39% to 61% margin.
Conservative
The Conservative Party of New York State endorsed Republican nominee Bob Turner in a July 9 meeting.Working Families
The Working Families PartyWorking Families Party
The Working Families Party is a minor political party in the United States founded in New York in 1998. There are "sister" parties to the New York WFP in Connecticut, Massachusetts, South Carolina, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Oregon, but there is as yet no national WFP...
endorsed Democratic nominee David Weprin on July 11.
Independence
The Independence Party of New YorkIndependence Party of New York
The Independence Party is an affiliate in the U.S. state of New York of the Independence Party of America. The party was founded in 1991 by Dr. Gordon Black, Tom Golisano, and Laureen Oliver from Rochester, New York, and acquired ballot status in 1994...
endorsed Democratic nominee David Weprin on July 10.
Socialist Workers
The Socialist Workers PartySocialist Workers Party (United States)
The Socialist Workers Party is a far-left political organization in the United States. The group places a priority on "solidarity work" to aid strikes and is strongly supportive of Cuba...
organized a one-week petitioning effort to collect the 3,500 signatures necessary to get its candidate, Christopher Hoeppner, onto the special election ballot. Hoeppner and the SWP submitted 7,080 signatures and qualified for the ballot.
Campaign
The seat was originally considered safe for Democrats, as registered Democrats outnumber Republicans three to one in the district, but the race soon turned into a toss-up, and a referendum on President Barack ObamaBarack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
and his party. Obama's support, or lack thereof, of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
in particular emerged as top issue in the district, whith its thirty some percent Jewish voters.
In early August, a Siena
Siena College
Siena College is an independent Roman Catholic liberal arts college in Loudonville, in the town of Colonie, New York, United States. Siena is a four-year, coeducational, independent college in the Franciscan tradition, founded by the Franciscan Friars in 1937. It has 3,000 full-time students and...
poll showed Weprin leading with six percent, but four days before the election the poll showed Turner leading by six points, and a poll done by Public Policy Polling
Public Policy Polling
Public Policy Polling is an American Democratic Party-affiliated polling firm based in Raleigh, North Carolina. PPP was founded in 2001 by businessman and Democratic pollster Dean Debnam, the firm's current president and chief executive officer...
(PPP) two days later showed the same result, which was attributed to the unpopularity of President Obama, who had already underperformed his Democratic predecessors in the district in 2008, and the issue of Israel. PPP's president commented that “If Republicans win this race...it's real-world evidence of how unpopular Barack Obama is right now. Approval polls are one thing, but for the GOP to win in a heavily Democratic district like this would send a strong message about how unhappy voters are”.
By August 24, Weprin reported raising $451,000, double the $204,000 raised by Turner. Weprin had the assistance of labor unions and strong local party organizations, and received additional financial support from national Democrats, who spent more than $600,000 on television advertisements criticizing Turner. Senator Joseph Lieberman endorsed him, Governor Andrew Cuomo
Andrew Cuomo
Andrew Mark Cuomo is the 56th and current Governor of New York, having assumed office on January 1, 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the 64th New York State Attorney General, and was the 11th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development...
and former President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
recorded automated phone calls to voters for him, and New York Senator Charles Schumer
Charles Schumer
Charles Ellis "Chuck" Schumer is the senior United States Senator from New York and a member of the Democratic Party. First elected in 1998, he defeated three-term Republican incumbent Al D'Amato by a margin of 55%–44%. He was easily re-elected in 2004 by a margin of 71%–24% and in 2010 by a...
and City Council speaker Christine Quinn campaigned with him. Turner had the support of former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and former Governor George Pataki
George Pataki
George Elmer Pataki is an American politician who was the 53rd Governor of New York. A member of the Republican Party, Pataki served three consecutive four-year terms from January 1, 1995 until December 31, 2006.- Early life :...
who made appearances with him. He also had the support of Assemblyman Dov Hikind
Dov Hikind
Dov Hikind is an American politician in the state of New York. He is a Democratic New York State Assemblyman. Hikind is an Orthodox Jew representing Brooklyn's Assembly district 48...
, and former New York mayor Ed Koch
Ed Koch
Edward Irving "Ed" Koch is an American lawyer, politician, and political commentator. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977 and three terms as mayor of New York City from 1978 to 1989...
, both Democrats and Jews.
Weprin, an Orthodox Jew whom Tablet Magazine
Tablet Magazine
Tablet Magazine is a two-time National Magazine Award-winning online publication of Jewish life, arts, and ideas. Sponsored by Nextbook, it was launched in June 2009. Its Editor in Chief is Alana Newhouse....
describes as “a nebbish-ey mustachioed man with a limp handshake and what appears to be a toupee
Toupee
A toupée is a hairpiece or partial wig of natural or synthetic hair worn to cover partial baldness or for theatrical purposes. While toupées and hairpieces are typically associated with male wearers, some women also use hairpieces to lengthen existing hair, or cover partially exposed scalp...
” led a gaffe-prone campaign: When asked by the New York Daily News
New York Daily News
The Daily News of New York City is the fourth most widely circulated daily newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 605,677, as of November 1, 2011....
, he estimated the national debt at $4 trillion instead of $14 trillion, and later blamed Hurricane Irene
Hurricane Irene (2011)
Hurricane Irene was a large and powerful Atlantic hurricane that left extensive flood and wind damage along its path through the Caribbean, the United States East Coast and as far north as Atlantic Canada in 2011...
as the reason for bowing out of a scheduled debate against Turner, a day after the hurricane had passed. In early September, Weprin's campaign was accused of sending volunteers to spy on Turner's campaign. Members of Weprin's campaign denied involvement. Weprin did not deny the allegations, but denied knowledge, saying "I'm the candidate. I can't control who goes to everything."
Turner portrayed the race as a referendum on President Obama’s policies and linked Weprin to the President. In the debate about the mosque near Ground Zero
Ground zero
The term ground zero describes the point on the Earth's surface closest to a detonation...
, Weprin has defended the "right of the mosque to build on that site". Turner chastised both him and Obama for this attitude in an advertisement, featuring images of the World Trade Center
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
in flames.
Turner advocated that the federal budget has to be cut by as much as a third, and he also wants to lower taxes. He insisted that the cuts would not necessarily mean reducing benefits for those who depend on government funds, particularly Social Security and Medicare. The New York Times, who endorsed Weprin, said of Turner's position: “[t]hat would take a magician, not a businessman”.
Turner, a Roman Catholic, appealed to Jewish voters by criticizing President Obama’s policies on Israel, and portraying Weprin, who is strongly pro-Israel, as being insufficiently critical of Obama’s stance on Israel. Former New York mayor Ed Koch supported Turner in order to send a message to President Obama “that he can no longer take the Jewish community for granted” and to change what Koch describes as “hostile position on the State of Israel”.
Koch has been accused of supporting Turner out of revenge for Weprin’s father Saul Weprin
Saul Weprin
Saul Weprin was an American attorney and politician. He was a Democratic member from Queens County of the New York State Assembly, and served as its Speaker from December 1991 until his death.-Early life and career:...
’s not supporting him in his race for governor in 1982, but Koch denied this.
Weprin's vote in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage
Marriage Equality Act
The Marriage Equality Act is a 2011 New York State law that allows gender-neutral marriages for both same- and opposite-sex couples, while prohibiting state and local courts and governments from penalizing religious and religious-supervised institutions, their employees, or clergy for refusing to...
in the Assembly in June 2011, angered many religious Jews, who make up for about a third of the Jewish voters, and led to some Flatbush
Flatbush, Brooklyn
Flatbush is a community of the Borough of Brooklyn, a part of New York City, consisting of several neighborhoods.The name Flatbush is an Anglicization of the Dutch language Vlacke bos ....
Orthodox rabbis issuing a letter prohibiting Jews from voting for Weprin or donating time or money to his campaign. Turner, who opposes same-sex marriage, avoided making it an issue in the campaign, following Ed Koch's advice. However, he was supported by local rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
s as well as Assemblyman Dov Hikind for being against gay marriage.
Polling
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Bob Turner (R) |
David Weprin (D) |
Christopher P. Hoeppner (S) |
Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Siena | August 3–8, 2011 | 501 | ± 4.4% | 42% | 48% | — | 9% |
| McLaughlin and Associates | August 31, 2011 | 300 | ± 5.7% | 42% | 42% | — | 16% |
| Magellan Strategies | September 1, 2011 | 2055 | ± 2.2% | 45% | 40% | 3% | 12% |
| Siena | September 6–8, 2011 | 886 | ± 3.3% | 50% | 44% | — | 6% |
| Public Policy Polling | September 8-11, 2011 | 664 | ± 3.8% | 47% | 41% | 4% | 7% |
| Results (for comparison) | September 13, 2011 | 72,197 | ± 0% | [ 51.7% ] | [ 46.6% ] | [ 0.2% ] | [ 1.5% ] |
Results
County Results
| County | won by |
Turner % |
Turner votes |
Weprin % |
Weprin votes |
| Brooklyn Brooklyn Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated... | align="center" |R |66% |15,004 |34% |7,739 |
|||||
| Queens Queens Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States.... | align=center|D |46% |22,338 |54% |25,917 |
Impact
The Republican upset victory is seen as a result of frustration with the weak national economy and considered a referendum on President Obama's economic policies. Commentators and politicians have also stated that the outcome of the election indicates that concerns about Obama's stance on Israel may have played a role in the election. The district has a substancial number of Jewish voters, particularly in Brooklyn, where Weprin lost 33 to 67. Many of them are ultra-Orthodox, who, while socially conservative, are fiscal liberals and sometimes will vote RepublicanRepublican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
or Russian immigrants, who tend to be politically conservative. Former New York mayor Ed Koch called the Republican win “a message to President Obama that he cannot throw Israel under a bus with impunity”.
Republican Jewish Coalition
Republican Jewish Coalition
The Republican Jewish Coalition , founded in 1985, is a political lobbying group in the United States that promotes Jewish Republicans. The RJC claims that it is the most important voice on conservative political issues for the Jewish-American community...
Executive Director Matt Brooks said the outcome had “huge implications for 2012 races in states with large Jewish communities, such as Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, and Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
”. National Jewish Democratic Council
National Jewish Democratic Council
The National Jewish Democratic Council works as lobbying organization for the country of Israel in the United States of America and the Democratic Party and its mission is to promote pro-Israeli policies within the Party, and to promote the Democratic Party within the jewish community.The NJDC is...
President David A. Harris
David A. Harris
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on the other hand stated: “One thing we know beyond the shadow of a doubt is that this election was about many things, but not Israel”. The chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee
Democratic National Committee
The Democratic National Committee is the principal organization governing the United States Democratic Party on a day to day basis. While it is responsible for overseeing the process of writing a platform every four years, the DNC's central focus is on campaign and political activity in support...
, Debbie Wasserman Schultz
Debbie Wasserman Schultz
Debbie Wasserman Schultz is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2005. She is a member of the Democratic Party and the Chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee. She previously served in the Florida House of Representatives and the Florida Senate...
, whose congressional district in South Florida comprises many Jewish voters, denied national ramifications saying that the district’s large concentration of Orthodox Jews, who don't vote for Democrats, made it unusual. Despite her claims the evidence shows that the Orthodox community is overwhelmingly democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
and usually votes that way. One example was in one of the special elections for State Assembly in one of the heavily Orthodox areas in the district where Turner won with 75% of the vote, the Assembly race was won by the Democrat, Michael Simanowitz, with 77%, with most of the people who voted for Simanowitz also crossed over for Turner. Looking at the maps of the district, Turner is the only Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
elected from the Orthodox areas in the district, who, according to election results, voted overwhelmingly for Democrat candidates for other seats. Election Data shows that the Orthodox still vote heavily Democrats, which hurt Schultz's credibility in her faulty damage control efforts. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu reportedly plans to take a side trip to congratulate Turner while in New York in September 2011.
Turner's victory may have implications on how the political boundaries of the state of New York will be redrawn in 2012. The 9th district was thought to be one of the two districts to be eliminated, as the state is losing two congressional seats because of population changes. Turner said that he will try to stay in Congress, no matter what result the redistricting will produce.