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December 2, 2008 10:49:09 PM CST


special election

special election news stories

6 Stories

Upset Election Victory Gives Brown a Boost

Surging popularity helps party win open parliament seat

(Newser) - Labour won a stunning come-from-behind victory in a special election in Scotland early this morning, reports the Times of London, offering the first evidence that Gordon Brown's political recovery may be lasting. The election was called after the death of a Labour MP. The seat looked set to go to the separatist Scottish Nationalist Party, and Brown's team expected to lose even after polls closed last night. More »

More about:  United Kingdom Gordon Brown Labour Party British Parliament special election Scottish National Party UK politics

Catastrophic Loss for Brown in Scottish Vote

Separatists win one of Labour's safest seats; PM may not survive

(Newser) - Gordon Brown suffered a potentially fatal blow to his leadership when Labour lost a once rock-solid seat to the Scottish National Party in a special election early this morning. In one of the most stunning upsets in years, the separatists seized the constituency of Glasgow East as more than 22% of voters who went Labour at the last election abandoned the party.  "We are in trouble," one minister admitted to the Guardian . More »

More about:  United Kingdom Gordon Brown Labour Party Scotland special election Scottish National Party

GOP Worries Mount That Boehner Lacks 'Killer Instinct'

Signs point to ugly November, and House minority leader may well bear brunt

(Newser) - After three stunning special-election losses, Republicans foresee and ugly November—and John Boehner is taking the heat. The House minority leader refused to push aside National Republican Congressional Committee chair Tom Cole, and many worry it’s too late for the impassive Boehner to change the game anyway, Politico reports. “This has all become about Boehner now, how he runs things,” said one insider. More »

More about:  John Boehner Tom DeLay special election Tom Cole NRCC

Key Mississippi
Loss Rattles Republicans

Third loss the charm: Panicked GOP looks
to rebrand before fall

(Newser) - This week's mauling of the GOP candidate in a special Mississippi election marked the third time this year that a "safe" Republican seat was lost to the Democrats, and GOP bigwigs are sweating about how that bodes for November, the New York Times reports. The party had banked that the Barack Obama connection would turn voters off Democrat Travis Childers, but found President Bush was a far greater liability for GOP candidate Greg Davis. More »

Democrat Nabs Unlikely Miss. House Seat

Upset victory in deep red district sends panic through GOP

(Newser) - Democrats scored a shocking upset last night, nabbing a House seat in a deeply conservative Mississippi district. Democrat Travis Childers prevailed 54% to 46% in the special election, Politico reports, soundly overcoming a nearly $2 million GOP campaign. Coming from a county that threw Bush 62% of its support in 2004, the results are panic-inducing for the GOP. More »

More about:  Republican Mississippi Democrat Trent Lott special election Travis Childers

Dem Physicist Nails House Seat in Ill. GOP Stronghold

Foster wins Hastert's spot in special election

(Newser) - Little-known Democratic physicist Bill Foster beat Illinois Republican Jim Oberweis yesterday in a special election to fill Dennis Hastert's vacated seat in Congress. The Democrat's victory in the GOP suburban stronghold west of Chicago may herald more trouble for Republicans during fall elections, writes the Chicago Tribune. "Voters are ready for a change. They want new leadership in Washington," said Senator Dick Durbin. More »

More about:  John McCain Congress Illinois special election Dennis Hastert

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