Boehner Boosts Candidate in Shaky NY Race

House Speaker John Boehner parachuted into suburban Buffalo, N.Y., on Monday to help the at-risk congressional campaign of Jane L. Corwin, who was considered, until recently, a shoo-in for a special election in a reliably conservative district, The New York Times reports. Corwin’s Democratic opponent, Kathy Hochul, has blasted away at the GOP’s Medicare reform proposal and pulled almost even in polls.

Jane L. Corwin

Democrats, sensing an upset, are sending in their reinforcements, too. Sen. Kirsten E. Gillibrand, D-N.Y., said on Monday she will campaign for Hochul in New York’s 26th District.

“The Democrats are hoping they can steal this election and move their agenda, which is more taxes and higher spending,” Boehner said at a Corwin fundraiser.

The May 24 election will decide who succeeds Rep. Christopher Lee, who resigned in February after he was caught e-mailing a shirtless photo of himself to a woman on Craigslist.