Breaking News

A Democrat won a special congressional election in a heavily Republican district in northern New York by exploiting a battle between moderates and conservatives for control of the GOP. With 88 percent of the precincts reporting early Wednesday, lawyer and retired Air Force Capt. Bill Owens defeated businessman Doug Hoffman, the Conservative Party candidate, 49 percent to 46 percent. Dierdre Scozzafava, a moderate Republican, withdrew from the race Saturday under pressure from the party’s right wing because of her support of abortion rights and same-sex marriage. She still picked up 5 percent of the vote. Hoffman conceded the race Wednesday.