Election Day Snapshot: On the Ground in NY-23

Anton Troianovski reports from Harrisville, N.Y., on the House special election. In rainy Black River, N.Y., former Dede Scozzafava supporter Steve Clendenen , 60 years old, today cast his ballot for Democrat Bill Owens . Like Scozzafava, who bowed out of the contest on Saturday, Clendenen is a Republican. He said had been turned off by Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman camp’s attacks on Scozzafava, and was at odds with members of the national Republican Party who attacked Scozzafava’s centrist views on certain social and fiscal issues. “The party is a very vast and loose thing,” Clendenen said. “This is not Europe where everybody has to follow the same belief.” But no Owens supporters could be found down the road at Pop’s Greasy Spoon Diner. Harold Keefer , 69, a retired dairy farmer, said he didn’t like Owens’s background as a lawyer and was concerned the government was trying to do too much about the health-care system. ... (link)