Candidates lawyer up in N.Y. race

WASHINGTON, April 5 (UPI) -- High-powered lawyers have been hired for Republican and Democrat candidates vying for an upstate New York congressional seat in a razor-close special election.

While all of the election votes have yet to be counted, The Hill reported Sunday that both parties tapped lawyers who have litigated election cases in the past. The newspaper reported that Democrat Scott Murphy will be represented by Henry Berger, while Republican Jim Tedisco's legal efforts will be led by John Ciampoli.

The lawyers are to appear for the first time in court Monday, just days after New York Board of Elections' unofficial tally showed the 20th Congressional District race tied at 77,225 votes each.

The Hill noted the race's final results will not be determined until at least mid-month, after about 6,000 absentee ballots are counted.

The special election was held to select a replacement for Kirsten Gillibrand, who replaced Democrat Hillary Clinton in the U.S. Senate when Clinton was confirmed as U.S. secretary of state.