They may have lost the governorships of New Jersey and Virginia, but Democrats expanded their majority in the House of Representatives by one seat Tuesday. Bill Owens won a surprise victory after a bizarre race that saw a third-party conservative candidate drive the Republican in this staunchly GOP district out of the running and into the arms of the Democrats.

A lot of people made a lot of inferences about this race. It was supposed to take the temperature of President Obama’s success (by tying his fortunes to a Democrat in a district that’s been red for 100 or so years, no less) and simultaneously represent the great (and tiresome) schism of the Republican Party. In the end, it probably had much more to do with a lousy economy and robocalls. — PZS

AP via Google:

Republicans hadn’t lost in the region in more than a century. Owens defeated Hoffman despite a 45,000-voter registration edge for Republicans and big-name endorsements for Hoffman from former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, former Republican Sen. Fred Thompson and others. Hoffman had rallied an unexpected level of support in the final days of the campaign, ultimately forcing Scozzafava to quit when he surged past her in the polls.

“This is only one fight in the battle, people,” Hoffman said before a gathering of supporters in Saranac Lake, N.Y., after conceding the race. “Let’s keep the fight going. Let’s make sure our voices are heard.”

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