The News Nobody Knows

Did you know that there was a special election in New York City yesterday to pick a new congressman?  Did you know that the winner of that election was Republican Dan Donovan, who has been the District Attorney of Richmond County (Staten Island)?  Did you know that Donovan got over 60% of the vote in the district which covers Staten Island and part of Brooklyn?  My guess is that you never heard of any of this.  Even the website Real Clear Politics which supposedly covers all American political events has no mention of the special election or its results.  There have been a few stories over the last month about the special election, but the media coverage has be almost exclusively about the involvement of Mr. Donovan with the case of Eric Garner, the man who died after being arrested by New York City police.  The circumstances of the arrest were put before the grand jury and it decided not to indict any of the police.  Of course, that did not stop the protests where people shouted "I can't breathe", a statement made by Mr. Garner after he collapsed during the arrest.

The truth, however, is that the Garner case had little, if anything, to do with the results of the special election.  Nevertheless, this was an important election.  Think about it.  A district in New York City chooses a Republican with more than 60% of the vote.  Results like that just don't happen in New York when there is no incumbent running.  Oh, there might be a Democrat win an open seat by a huge majority, but not a Republican.  President Obama carried the district in 2012.  Registered Democrats have better than a 3 to 2 majority over registered Republicans in the district.  Over 40% of the district is comprised of minority population.  Nevertheless, the Republican won big. 

This is important news.