Democrat wins House race in New York

By Michelle Nichols

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A Democrat has won a close U.S. congressional election in New York that had been seen by some as an early gauge of support for President Barack Obama.

Republican Jim Tedisco conceded defeat on Friday to his Democratic rival Scott Murphy in a district of northeast New York state that has traditionally been Republican but has voted Democratic in recent years.

"As a candidate, Scott courageously championed the economic plans we need to lift our nation and put it on a better path, and he will continue to do so in Congress," Obama said in a statement.

Some experts saw the special election for a vacant seat in the House of Representative as a sign of how voters assess Obama's performance since he took office on January 20.

Others said that interpretation was limited due to local factors in the rural district and that since the race was so close it didn't indicate much support or opposition for Obama.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, however, said, "Scott's victory is a clear indication that Democrats, independents, and Republicans across the country want to continue moving America in a new direction and reject the 'just say no' policies" of Republicans in Washington."

The election was decided by absentee ballots in a recount. The New York State Board of Elections had Murphy leading by 399 votes on Thursday (www.elections.state.ny.us).

Murphy, a venture capitalist, will fill the House seat vacated by Kirsten Gillibrand, a conservative Democrat who succeeded Hillary Clinton after she left the U.S. Senate to become Obama's secretary of state.