2009 special election for New York's 23rd District
U.S. House · New York
William L. Owens (D) won with 48.3% of the vote, defeating Douglas L. Hoffman (CON) by 2.4 points, flipping a seat Republicans held.
Source: Federal Election CommissionUpdated Oct 3, 2026, 3:20 AM ET
The seat over time
D − R margin in this seat's races around 2009
Races before and after
Source: Past results: 99chambers results archive (MEDSL, Klarner, state election offices)
Money in this race
Each line compares the two campaigns on one scale.
Campaign money: FEC, through Dec 31, 2010.
Source: FEC campaign filingsUpdated Dec 31, 2010
Polls against the result
- Poll with Owens ahead
- Poll with Scozzafava ahead
- Result
| Pollster | Dates | Sample | Owens | Scozzafava | Margin | Adjusted | Miss vs result | Grade | Release |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Siena College | Nov 1 | 606 | 36 | 6 | D+30 | — | −12.7 | A | Wikipedia |
| Public Policy Polling | Oct 31 | 1,754 | 34 | 13 | D+21 | — | −21.7 | B+ | Wikipedia |
| Siena College | Oct 28 | 704 | 36 | 20 | D+16 | — | −26.7 | A | Wikipedia |
| Neighborhood Research and Media | Oct 25 | 442 | 29 | 14 | D+15 | — | −27.7 | C+ | Wikipedia |
| Basswood ResearchR-sponsored | Oct 24 | 300 | 27 | 20 | D+7 | — | −35.7 | C− | Wikipedia |
| Siena College | Oct 12 | 617 | 33 | 29 | D+4 | — | −38.7 | A | Wikipedia |
| Siena College | Sep 28 | 622 | 28 | 35 | R+7 | — | −49.7 | A | Wikipedia |
| Basswood ResearchR-sponsored | Sep 17 | 300 | 17 | 20 | R+3 | — | −45.7 | C− | Wikipedia |
| McLaughlin & Associates | Sep 8 | 300 | 20 | 30 | R+10 | — | −52.7 | C− | Wikipedia |
Adjusted: after correcting for the pollster's house effect and likely-voter screens. Miss: the poll's margin minus the result; + means the poll leaned Democratic. Grade: the pollster's accuracy in past elections, A+ to D (pollster ratings).
Source: Each poll's release, via FiveThirtyEight poll listsUpdated Nov 1, 2009