Democrat Kathy Hochul's upset victory in NY-26: 5 theories

A Democrat wins in a conservative congressional district's special election, after framing the vote as a referendum on the GOP's Medicare reform plans. What does it mean?

Democrat Kathy Hochul
(Image credit: YouTube)

Democrat Kathy Hochul won a special House election in a reliably conservative district of western New York on Tuesday, in what her supporters called a rejection of the effort by House Republicans to turn Medicare into a voucher system. Republicans dismissed the suggestion that the result was a referendum on Rep. Paul Ryan's Medicare plan. They say that the GOP candidate, Jane Corwin, lost because a third candidate, who ran as a Tea Partier, siphoned away some of her votes in the race to replace Chistopher Lee, the GOP congressman who resigned after posting shirtless photos on Craiglist. What was the real message of Tuesday's vote in New York's 26th congressional district? Here, five theories:

1. Paul Ryan's Medicare plan is toxic

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