Premature concession: Hoffman trails by 3,026

A recanvassing of votes in the NY-23 special Congressional election has turned up a surprise. Bill Owens, the Democrat who won the seat and ended a long period of Republican hegemony, has already been sworn into office, but the vote counts now show Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman much closer than thought on Election Night. Thought to be down over 5300 votes, the final counts in the district show Hoffman trailing by 3,026 — with over 10,000 absentee ballots left to count: