WASHINGTON, May 23 (UPI) -- Democrat Kathy Hochul is set to pull off an upset win against Republican Jane Corwin in New York's 26th district special election, polling indicates.
Hochul held a 6-point lead with 42 percent over Corwin's 36 percent, a Public Policy Polling survey released Sunday showed. Independent Jack Davis, running on the Tea Party line, received 13 percent support in the poll.
Pundits are watching the race, seen as a test of voter reaction to a 2012 federal budget proposal by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., containing a provision that would turn Medicare into a voucher-like system, The Hill reported.
Tuesday's special election was called by Gov. Andrew Cuomo after the Feb. 9 resignation of Rep. Chris Lee, R-N.Y., following a scandal in which he was caught responding to a woman's Craigslist personal ad using a false name and claiming he was single. The district has, with few exceptions, sent Republicans to Congress for decades.
The poll of 1,106 voters had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 percentage points.
