Vito Fossella (Updated)

I’ll second David’s chagrin at seeing Vito Fossella collapse under a baby-daddy scandal hot on the heels of a DWI scandal. Though I never worked for the man worked in his district, as Mr. Freddoso did, I did intern at a political talk radio station in DC one summer, and Fossella was always one of our favorite guests to have on–funny, smart, gracious, and always willing to play up his Italian heritage for a laugh. A genuine pleasure and a nice guy.

James has the moral implications covered; I prefer to tackle the nuts and bolts. New York’s 13th District is pretty solidly Republican: Fossella’s last two victories averaged 16 points, and Bush won by 8 and 10 points in ’00 and ’04, respectively. The Rothenberg Political Report lists NY-13 as “Republican favored,” but I just shot political editor Nathan Gonzales an email about the race, and he had this to say:

Just a couple weeks ago this race was a long-shot scenario for Democrats. But now, as Fossella’s personal life unfolds before our eyes, this could be a real opportunity for Democrats to win yet another congressional seat in New York. Voters might have been willing to give him a pass on the drunk driving, but we’re in a whole new ballgame now. And if Fossella leaves Congress, this is not the time or the place Republicans want to be defending another open seat.

His dropping out would indeed be very bad news for the NRCC, since, last I saw, 29 Republicans on the House side had decided not to run for reelection. Depending on the timing of Vito’s exit, we could see a special election, or the seat could sit empty until the national election in November. Things keep looking up for the GOP in ’08, don’t they?

/sarcasm

(Updated to reflect the fact that David worked in Fossella’s district, rather than worked in his district office as I originally thought. Reading comprehension skills clearly aren’t my strong suit.)