New York's 26th congressional district special election, 2011
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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 flirtatious emails and a shirtless picture he had sent to a woman he met on Craigslist. Four candidates competed in the election: Republican New York State Assembly member Jane Corwin; Democrat Erie County Clerk Kathy Hochul; Green Party candidate Ian Murphy, editor of the Buffalo Beast; and independent candidate Jack Davis, a businessman running on the Tea Party line (formerly registered as a Democrat). Hochul was projected as the winner of the race with a plurality of the vote on election night.
Under New York election law, special elections to fill vacant offices were held between 30 to 40 days of their announcement by the governor. In March 2011, at the initiative of Governor Cuomo and with the approval of the state legislature, the campaigning period was more than doubled, with the reason given that U.S. military serving overseas needed the extra time to receive and send back their ballots. The Capitol Confidential noted that the federal government had sued for the extension for the military and predicted that the change might also "shift... political tactics during the [special election] campaigns, which because of their short duration favor wealthy candidates and 'air wars'. Once the governor called the election, county chairpersons from each of the six qualified New York parties (Democratic, Republican, Conservative, Working Families, Independence, and Green) caucused to choose their candidates, with no primary election or petitions to circulate. Independent candidates also had the opportunity to petition onto the ballot.
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