From Reuters:
A New York Democrat candidate blamed President Barack Obama on Thursday for his loss in a special election for a House of Representatives district that had been held by the Democrats for more than 80 years.
The Republican upset on Tuesday in a district where Democrats outnumber Republicans three to one has rattled some Democrats ahead of the November 2012 presidential election.
David Weprin, a New York state assemblyman, said his loss in a race to replace disgraced Anthony Weiner, who resigned in a Twitter sex scandal, was an “unfortunate consequence” of a campaign that turned into a “referendum” on Obama’s policies.
Republican Bob Turner, a retired media executive, won by six percentage points after urging discontented voters to send Obama a message. It is the first time the Republicans have won the heavily Jewish district since the 1920s.
“The message of the campaign was, ‘Send Obama a message,'” said Weprin, who is from a well-connected political family. “I think the problem was that he’s the president and people are frustrated and it’s just natural to take it out on the top guy … or the top guy’s party.”
“As much as I tried to make it about David Weprin or Bob Turner, I don’t think that resonated to voters. I think that voters looked at it as a referendum on the president,” he said, adding that he did not believe Weiner’s scandalous resignation played a role in the Democrat loss of the district.
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