The hotly contested NY-20 special election race ended in a near dead-heat. Republican Jim Tedisco was down by 65 votes after round one.  6000 absentee ballots will be counted on April 8. So what to make of it?

If you like the Democratic spin, the Republican failed to match Republican registration figures, and a “comeback trail” story for the Republicans can potentially be short-circuited if Democrat Scott Murphy holds on for the win.

If you like the Republican spin, the Democrats thought they had this in the bag and then blew it. When it came down to GOTV, the Republicans made up 3-4% and all the union help plus the president’s mailer couldn’t maintain the lead. Tedisco ran essentially even in a district that went Democratic in the congressional race just a few months ago by a 62-38% margin. (Obama carried it 51-48%. Although Republicans lead in registration Hillary Clinton carried the district in the Senate race in 2006 as did Chuck Schumer in 2004.)

And of course we have yet to determine a winner. Or undertake the recount. Or go through the lawsuits. And, then, perhaps a House race in upstate New York is just a House race in upstate New York.