Democratic State Senator Darrel Aubertine, who recently won his seat in a special election, is now running for re-election in a heavily Republican, way-upstate district (the 48th).

His new ad shows Aubertine farming, has the tag line "He's still one of us," and doesn't mention what party he belongs to--the sort of tactic more often seen from Republicans these days.

Here's what I've heard so far about who might run for Vito Fossella's seat now that the congressman has said he is staying in office but not seeking re-election.

A spokesman for Democratic City Councilman Domenic Recchia of Brooklyn, the best-funded challenger, said he’s still in the race, despite some rumblings that he might drop out. Democratic attorney Steve Harrison is also still running.

On the Republican side, the names of State Senator Andrew Lanza and District Attorney Dan Donovan have been floated. But a bid by either would come at a cost to the party. A Lanza run could jeopardize one of the State Senate seats that give Republicans a majority. And Donovan would have to give up his safe seat as district attorney, in which case David Paterson would almost certainly appoint a Democrat to that borough-wide position.  read more »

Democrat Darrell Aubertine won today's special election in the heavily Republican 48th state Senate district upstate, defeating Republican Will Barclay.

This officially reduces Joe Bruno's Republican control in that house to just one seat.

Aubertine got 27,712 votes, compared to Barclay's 25,001 votes, according to the unofficial breakdown of election results from the three counties that cover the district:  read more »

One observation from a reader about today’s closely watched, crucial special election in the 48th senate district race between Democrat Darrel Aubertine and Republican Will Barclay:

"Special Elections revolve around turnout first and foremost. So, when you consider this district's unique character, the best predictions will come not from a political insider but from a meteorologist who can analyze the weather patterns of the southern shore of Lake Ontario vs. the eastern shore."  read more »

]]> http://www.observer.com/2008/weather-and-turnout-48th#comments Politics Darrel Aubertine Will Barclay Tue, 26 Feb 2008 08:16:26 -0500 Azi Paybarah 65585 at http://www.observer.com http://www.observer.com/2008/aubertines-900-jobs

Here's the latest ad by Democratic state Senate candidate Darrel Aubertine -- he's running in an expensive special election that would, if he wins, cut Joe Bruno's Republican majority to a single-seat margin -- touting his role in helping to save 900 jobs upstate.

]]> http://www.observer.com/2008/aubertines-900-jobs#comments Politics Darrel Aubertine Will Barclay Fri, 22 Feb 2008 09:02:13 -0500 Azi Paybarah 65491 at http://www.observer.com http://www.observer.com/2008/wfp-looks-beyond-republican-vs-democrat-fight

Next week's special election between Democrat Darrel Aubertine and Republican Will Barclay could cut the Republican majority in the state Senate down to one seat.

Accordingly, Dan Cantor of the Working Families Party is already issuing a warning, of sorts, against complacency if and when the Democrats get in.

From an email to supporters just now:  read more »

]]> http://www.observer.com/2008/wfp-looks-beyond-republican-vs-democrat-fight#comments Politics Darrel Aubertine David Cantor Will Barclay Wed, 20 Feb 2008 15:01:31 -0500 Azi Paybarah 65416 at http://www.observer.com http://www.observer.com/2008/aubertine-argument-its-all-local
Back in New York, there’s some campaigning too.

Here’s a video taken Saturday of Darrel Aubertine, a Democratic Assemblyman, announcing his candidacy for the 48th state Senate seat vacated recently by Republican Jim Wright. And no, the obstacles to winning in this Republican-leaning district aren't lost on Aubertine.

“Make no mistake. This race isn’t going to be easy. But make no mistake. We’re going to make it just as difficult for the other side as we possibly can,” he said.

He previewed what Democrats will likely be arguing in November, when the other 211 legislative seats are on the ballot. Namely, that the legislative races are not a referendum on Eliot Spitzer and his first year in office.

“There’s a lot of people that are going to try to tell you that this race, this race is about the politics in Albany. It’s not. It’s about the issues and concerns that are right in front of us, here on our main streets in Northern New York,” he said.

Liz has more on the race here. ]]> http://www.observer.com/2008/aubertine-argument-its-all-local#comments Politics Darrel Aubertine Eliot Spitzer Sun, 06 Jan 2008 12:29:36 -0500 Azi Paybarah 62932 at http://www.observer.com