It’s starting to look like there might not be any special election for the House seat formerly held by ex-Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY), who dramatically resigned last month in a scandal involving allegations of sexual harassment of male aides, a scenario that would leave the seat vacant until at least this November.
Maggie McKeon, a spokeswoman for Gov. David Paterson, told Gannett that no decision has been made on whether to fill the seat before the regular November 2 election — and that issues of cost would work against it. “We have some serious concerns about the financial impact that a special election could have on the county level, especially because those counties are facing the same fiscal crisis that the state is facing,” said McKeon.
If there were an election for this seat, the Republicans would have a pretty good chance of carrying it. The district voted for John McCain by 50%-48% in 2008, while at the same time Massa picked up the seat by a 51%-49% margin in a very Democratic year.
