Rep. Scott Murphy (D-NY) was just sworn in to the House of Representatives, capping off a four-week process that has lasted since the photo-finish on the night of his special election way back on March 31.
Murphy has taken the upstate New York seat formerly held by U.S. Sen Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), whose appointment to the Senate caused the special election in this marginal district. It took over three weeks for the winner to be known as absentee ballots were counted, with Murphy up by 399 votes at the end of last week when his Republican opponent Jim Tedisco conceded the race.
Murphy’s certificate of election has not actually been issued yet, as the state continues to go through the bureaucratic niceties of finalizing the vote count. But because the outcome is no longer in any doubt, Murphy was permitted to take the oath of office.
Late Update: A funny moment occurred during the swearing-in. Speaker Nancy Pelosi called for the whole New York delegation to step forward. “Aren’t there any Republicans from New York?” Pelosi asked rhetorically, and then chuckled. There are three GOP members out of 29, down from nine GOPers just four years ago.
