and it feels real good.
The race was for county court judge in Rensselaer County (upstate New York, outside Albany).
Democrat Bob Jacon beat the incumbent district attorney by 6 points, in what is generally a Republican county. Bob was far and away the best candidate, and it was an honor to canvass and phone-call for him.
And it was fun, too; you all should try it.
As Steve Earle says, "The revolution starts now, in your own backyard, in your own hometown. So whatcha doin' standin' around?"
More below.
Bob's a small-town (East Greenbush) lawyer and former town judge who was active in the Dean campaign here. His opponent is young, relatively inexperienced, twice cited for prosecutorial misconduct, and being sued by a former ADA. But she was the DA, so she had much higher name recognition.
Her problems helped, as did Bob's radio ads that reminded voters of them. Also, Bob and his wife Sandy worked hard, as did a corps of volunteers, to ensure that we didn't have an incompetent avenging-angel prosecutor as a county court judge.
Elsewhere in the Capital District, it was a great night for the Dems. We beat incumbent mayors in the city of Rensselaer and the resort city of Saratoga Springs and swept North Greenbush, a growing suburban town.
Many suburban towns around here are trending Democratic, which is more good news.
We're on a roll now, both locally and nationally, but we have to work to win EVERY race.
And hopefully you all can get a chance to work for great winning candidates like Bob Jacon.
P.S. Kossack, local DFA leader and Stephentown Dem chairman Andrew C. White got a smart pro-Jacon letter published in the largest local daily, which also helped. Thanks, Andrew.