Earlier today I reported Renee Ellmers’ victory in North Carolina’s 2nd District, defeating Democrat Rep. Bob Etheridge, who says he was a victim of “dirty politics.”
The win for Ellmers makes the GOP’s net gain in this year’s election 61 House seats, and Republican challengers currently lead in three of the five remaining undecided races, including New York’s 25th district. Absentee ballots were counted there today and GOP challenger Ann Marie Buerkle maintained a lead of 411 votes by last count. Blogger Sam Foster says this almost certainly means Democrat incumbent Dan Maffei has been defeated.
Buerkle’s victory would be of historic significance because, as the Los Angeles Times reports, Republicans haven’t held more than 240 House seats since 1949.
