ANOTHER BIG UPSET IN A "SAFE" REPUBLICAN DISTRICT-- THIS ONE IS IN FLORIDA, IN BOB ALLEN'S OLD SEAT

Moderate Democrat Tony Sasso with moderate Republican Charlie Crist

Last night progressives in New York celebrated a tremendous victory when Democrat Darrel Aubertine took an open state senate seat in one of the most conservative Republican districts left in northern New York. After 7 disastrous years of George Bush and a rubber stamp Congress, Republicans are on the run-- and not just in New York. Remember convicted Republican toilet trawler Rep. Bob Allen (R-FL)? Right after Idaho Republican Senator Larry Craig was arrested for soliciting sex from a young male policeman in a Minneapolis Airport men's room, Rep. Allen, who had written legislation against such activity, tried the same stunt. He was also arrested-- denied everything, of course-- and was then convicted and forced to resign from his House seat. Yesterday Republicans were confident their cookie-cutter candidate would hold the seat in the overwhelmingly red district. He didn't. At the same time upstate New Yorkers were voting in a Democrat in a district that hadn't elected one in over 40 years, Floridians were also expressing their contempt for what the GOP has come to symbolize. A flood of typically Republican negative campaign ads and all the regular smears-- over $250,000 worth-- failed to do any more for Campbell than it had done for Barclay in New York.

Tony Sasso and Florida Democrats scored an upset Tuesday, winning the special election for Bob Allen's Florida House seat in a heavily Republican district.

The former Cocoa Beach commissioner edged Republican Sean Campbell of Merritt Island, who spent more money and received significant financial backing from his party.

Sasso led by 412 votes with all but a dozen provisional ballots left to be counted, local elections officials said. He won with 48 percent of the vote to Campbell's 46 percent.