By David A. Patten
The GOP victory in the heavily Democratic New York City's 9th Congressional District once held by former Rep. Anthony Weiner touched off a political earthquake and offered a “stunning rebuke” to President Barack Obama as he gears up for his re-election bid in 2012, political pundits and pollsters say.
Bob Turner's election is described as a "wake-up call that every Democrat is potentially at risk."
Republican businessman Bob Turner stunned the establishment by defeating David Weprin, a New York state assemblyman who was the handpicked choice of the city's Democratic machine, in a special election fight to fill Weiner's seat.
The defeat had Democratic stalwarts reeling, as the party holds a 3-to-1 advantage over Republicans in the district's voter registrations. President Obama won the district in 2008 handily, beating Sen. John McCain there 55 percent to 44 percent.
Democratic pollster and Fox News commentator Doug Schoen told Newsmax the GOP win in the heart of Democratic liberalism represents a “stunning rebuke” to President Obama and his policies.
“It will be at the very least a wake-up call that every Democrat is potentially at risk,” Schoen tells Newsmax. “And it will be a message to the president that his policies at least for the time being have gotten a resounding rebuke by reliably Democratic voters.”
Turner, a former Multimedia Entertainment television executive, drew broad-based support for his candidacy, gaining endorsements from former Mayors Rudy Giuliani and Ed Koch.
Koch, one of the city's most popular and influential Democrats, played a pivotal role in the race by embracing Turner.
In late July, Koch urged Democratic voters to back Turner to send a message to Obama, as well as the two parties.
Koch wrote that the special election should serve as a "a referendum that will allow the voters of this district, the largest Jewish district in the country, to register a protest against the positions of President Barack Obama and the Republican leadership on a number of key issues."
Koch also has been dismayed with Obama's Mideast policies that demonstrated "open hostility to the State of Israel."
National Democratic organizations pulled out all the stops to counter Turner and supporters such as Koch, pouring more than $600,000 into advertising buys in the waning days of the campaign to help Weprin.
