(Photo: YouTube)

A number of key New York congressional seats were at stake election day last week. When all the votes were counted, though there were over a half-dozen competitive races only three districts changed partisan hands. One of those belonged to Hudson Valley Rep. Nan Hayworth, a freshman Republican who came in on the Tea Party wave two years ago and narrowly lost her seat this time around to Democratic attorney Sean Patrick Maloney. On Friday, Ms. Hayworth went on Richard French Live to look back on her unsuccessful election, as well as the broader national race.

"Look, Hurricane Sandy did have an effect on the public discourse," she contended. "There are issues of momentum that affected races like mine. The President had a substantial percentage margin over Governor Romney and we had known if there were a really large margin for the president, above say 5 points, that that would be very hard for us to overcome structurally in the new district that I was running in."

Another problem, Ms. Hayorth said, was the press' framing of the campaign. “I'm not blaming the media, but the media did tend to take up the president's message more vigorously than Governor Romney's message," she argued. "But then again, it's incumbent upon those of us who are in this contest to recognize those factors and apply resources accordingly."

Overall, the congresswoman sounded fairly remorseful about returning to private life.

"I loved this job and I cherished it and it was a great honor," she said. "So my most fervent wish was that I could continue to serve, or I wouldn't have run. But I'm confident I'll find other ways to be useful. It's a tough life."

Watch below:

Residents of Maine and Maryland voted to legalize gay marriage. It was the first time same-sex marriage was approved by voters rather than being legalized in a legislature, as it was in New York in 2010. As of this writing, a gay marriage referendum was also leading in Washington, which rejected same sex marriage in 2009.

Along with the wins for gay marriage, Democrat Tammy Baldwin became the first openly gay U.S. Senator with her win in Wisconsin. Here in New York, the state gained an openly gay congressman in the Hudson Valley after Democrat Sean Patrick Maloney defeated Republican incumbent Nan Hayworth in the 18th district.

Colorado and Washington became the first states to legalize the production sale and possession of medical marijuana for recreational use. Massachusetts also legalized marijuana for medical use. Despite these victories for marijuana advocates, a recreational marijuana initiative failed in Oregon, as did a medical marijuana proposal in Arkansas. Montana also voted to make its medical marijuana laws more restrictive. However, In spite of these setbacks the passage of bills legalizing marijuana for recreational purposes was a major landmark for advocates of the substance.

John Hickenlooper, the governor of Colorado, initially opposed his state's medical marijuana initiative. However, on NBC he indicated that, though the drug is still illegal federally, his state would at least "want to decriminalize it" in the wake of last night's vote. Mr. Hickenlooper also issued a statement indicating his desire to "respect" the wishes of voters.

"The voters have spoken and we have to respect their will," Mr. Hickenlooper said. "This will be a complicated process, but we intend to follow through. That said, federal law still says marijuana is an illegal drug, so don’t break out the Cheetos or gold fish too quickly."

(Photo: YouTube)

Democrat Sean Patrick Maloney really wants you to associate incumbent Rep. Nan Hayworth with the Tea Party movement, at least if his television advertisements are any indication.

"Congresswoman Nan Hayworth's gone Tea Party on us, and it's not pretty: voting to end Medicare to pay for tax breaks for millionaires....like her," the narrator in Mr. Maloney's first commercial declared as constituents are shown sipping tea and gagging at the bitter taste. "For all her sugary promises at home, Congresswoman Hayworth abandoned us in Washington where she joined the Tea Party to defund Planned Parenthood."

And Mr. Maloney's latest ad managed to embrace the Tea Party messaging even more literally. Ms. Hayworth's photograph is displayed on a teacup, with "Rep. Hayworth TEA PARTY" written on the paper attached to the tea bag for anyone who might have missed the subtle visual. After each of Ms. Hayworth's conservative positions are announced, the cup cracks, ultimately shattering.

"Nan Hayworth works for Tea Party extremists, not Hudson Valley families," Mr. Maloney explains after the cup is reduced to shards.

The electoral battle between Ms. Hayworth and Mr. Maloney is considered among the most competitive congressional races in the state. For her part, Ms. Hayworth has worked to brand Mr. Maloney as a "carpetbagger" in her advertising.

Watch both of Mr. Maloney's ads below:

Nan Hayworth (Photo: Facebook)

Hudson Valley Congressman Nan Hayworth's bid to hold onto the Independence Party line was thwarted in appeals court yesterday and the Republican will have one less spot on the ballot as she competes against Democratic attorney Sean Patrick Maloney this November. Not content to leave the news stand on its own, Mr. Maloney blasted out a statement this afternoon entitled, "Hayworth Can’t Find 770 Independent Voters Who Want Her Back."

Of course, "Independent" voters aren't the same thing as the more common "independent" variety, but Mr. Maloney felt her inability to secure enough signatures to spoke to her conservative ideology and votes.

“Congresswoman Hayworth ran on the Independence Party line in 2010, and then went down to Washington and championed the Tea Party agenda to end Medicare, passing $6,400 in costs on to our seniors all so she could pay for another huge tax break for millionaires like herself,” Mr. Maloney said in the statement. “Congresswoman Hayworth calls an extremist like Paul Ryan a ‘mentor’ and ‘friend’ – no wonder she couldn’t find 770 Independence voters here in the Hudson Valley who want to represent them in Congress.”

Ms. Hayworth is far from the only politician in New York who lost the Independence Party line this cycle. Due to the complications of finding voters registered as Independent (many of whom surely thought, mistakenly, that they were registering in a nonpartisan, independent fashion) and a shift in the primary election date and corresponding the signature deadlines, pols ranging from Rep. Michael Grimm in Staten Island to Queens congressional candidate Grace Meng have suffered similar fates.

The line's main value is its name, and just like some voters register as Independent without knowing quite what it means, some prefer to cast their votes "independently" as well.

(Photo: Getty)

Sean Patrick Maloney, who served as an adviser to President Bill Clinton between 1997 and 2000, just got his former boss's backing for his congressional campaign. Mr. Maloney is running for the Democratic nomination to take on GOP Rep. Nan Hayworth in November, and the public support from a popular Democrat like Mr. Clinton is a nice thing to have in his back pocket.

“I support Sean because I know he’ll be an outstanding member of Congress,” Mr. Clinton said in a statement. “Sean worked closely with me in the White House to create jobs, grow our economy and balance the budget. It’s time to bring a common sense approach back to Congress, and Sean Patrick Maloney is the right Democrat to help restore the economy and get people back to work in the Hudson Valley.”

The backing comes as Mr. Maloney is racking up various significant endorsements, especially labor. Last Friday he was endorsed by both the AFL-CIO and the NYSUT, two of the state's largest unions.

Mr. Maloney doesn't have a clear shot to take on Ms. Hayworth, however. First he'll need to vanquish a set of opponents, notably Dr. Rich Becker, in the June 26th Democratic primary.

Sean Patrick Maloney (Photo: Patrick McMullan)

Sean Patrick Maloney, a leading Democratic contender to take on freshman GOP Rep. Nan Hayworth has been pulling in significant union endorsements in recent weeks. The latest announcements came today from the New York State United Teachers and the AFL-CIO, giving Mr. Maloney a nice boost as he seeks to defeat his Democratic opponents on June 26th.

Together, the two unions claim to represent over 3 million individuals in the state and join previous powerhouse unions like 32BJ SEIU and 1199 SEIU in supporting Mr. Maloney.

“Sean Patrick Maloney is in touch with the values and priorities of the hardworking men and women of the 18th Congressional District; this is a quality that has been lacking in its representation in Washington over the last two years," NYS AFL-CIO President Mario Cilento said in a statement. "His laser focus on education, worker training, and job creation is just what middle class New Yorkers want and need.”

A number of other Democrats are also in the race, notably Dr. Rich Becker. Mr. Becker has previously announced some smaller union endorsements like the Uniformed Fire Officers Association, as well as some notable Democratic committees in the district.

Two small town mayors, Matt Alexander and Tom Wilson, as well as Duane Jackson, a street vendor who famously foiled a Times Square bomb threat, are competing for the nomination as well. The primary is June 26th.

Rich Becker (Photo: Facebook)

Rich Becker, a Democratic candidate to take on GOP Rep. Nan Hayworth in November, has no intention of letting Nan Hayworth's spokesman off the hook for suggesting acid should be hurled onto female Democratic senators who fail to hire equitably within their own staffs.

Although the spokesman, Jay Townsend, apologized for the comment, Mr. Becker is arguing Ms. Hayworth needs to fire him to fully rectify the situation. Mr. Becker sent her a letter today, which you can view below, repeating that position, and he's holding a rally outside of her office later this morning to further emphasize the point.

"On clear cut moral issues like this one, there is no gray area. Either you do the right thing andrefuse to accept unacceptable behavior, or you in effect condone the indefensible," Mr. Becker wrote in the letter. "I thereforeurge you to do the right thing and fire Mr. Townsend. Even after a nearly week-long delay, firingMr. Townsend would send a welcome message that you agree that his derogatory language hasno place in the Hudson Valley."

For her part, Ms. Hayworth's campaign manager has doubled down on the "acid hurling" remark and accused Mr. Becker of drumming up the controversy for his own political purposes.

At least two of Mr. Becker's Democratic rivals, Sean Patrick Maloney and Matt Alexander, have also condemned Mr. Townsend's remark's, but Mr. Becker has been out front and center in pushing the issue.

View the letter:

And in his statement Mr. Harvie blamed the campaign of Richard Becker, one of a handful of Democrats vying to compete against Ms. Hayworth in November.

"This is a manufactured controversy by a campaign operation that has, for months, hurled offensive rhetoric and imagery at Nan Hayworth on various Facebook pages, including the one mentioned today. It is a matter of public record that the moderator of the page in question, while purporting to represent an objective point of view, is on the payroll of the Becker campaign. And in behalf of the Becker campaign, the moderator has tolerated extremely hostile and explicit comments against Dr. Hayworth. Only now have the media chosen to pay attention to this particular battlefield in the war against a woman who has the temerity to be a Republican Member of Congress."

"The comment receiving the attention was not made on behalf of the Congresswoman or her campaign and was clearly not meant to be taken literally. Meanwhile, this morning's dismal employment report proves yet again that the Becker campaign is doing all it can to distract attention from the real issues that mean everything to the future of our Hudson Valley. Today's anemic job figures and rising unemployment rate are stark evidence that their candidate represents a thoroughly discredited set of policies that have caused families here and around the country to suffer needlessly in an economy that can only be revived by doing what Nan Hayworth is working for every day: respecting our hardworking taxpayers, restraining the federal government, restoring long-term soundness to Social Security and Medicare, and repealing and replacing the massive and costly federal takeover of our health care."

"It's not too much to insist that the media responsibly analyze context and perspective rather than simply broadcast hysterical and irresponsible attacks from a campaign that is purely seeking to score political points against a Representative who has a consistently strong and positive record as an advocate for every citizen she serves."

The incidents seems to have diminished enthusiasm for Ms. Hayworth among some quarters where she needs it most, particularly in the righty blogosphere.

In a blog post entitled "Today Is The Day Nan Hayworth Lost NY-19 For Us", the blog Red State wrote:

On top of a disappointing track record of voting with the leaders to continue spending money no one will ever have, today was a double-plus-ungood day for Nan Hayworth. On the same day she voted against PRENDA and thus for the “right” to kill unborn children who have the temerity to be the wrong gender, her spokesman, Jay Townsend, apparently has had a comment he made blown sky high, unleashing a firestorm of Progressive outrage. Whatever the context of his comment, it’s going to be difficult to defend his suggestion that we “hurl acid at those female Democratic Senators.”

If she was trying to fly under the radar and cruise to re-election, she can forget about that now. As I wrote on her Facebook page, I’d rather NY-19 was held by a D, that way I wouldn’t feel betrayed. She rode the Tea Party wave to election in 2010, but she’s just another New York RINO. I will not miss her.

And, naturally, Ms. Hayworth's opponents quickly pounced.

Mr. Becker, who has been driving this issue for the last 36 hours, said in a statement:

"This is a very simple issue: It is emphatically not ok for a Congressional spokesman to say we should "hurl some acid at those female democratic senators" his boss disagrees with. That kind of unprofessional and hateful language should never be used by our political representatives and is unworthy of our great state and the Hudson Valley. Period. It's unfortunate that Nan Hayworth apparently disagrees."

"Hayworth's non-sequitur response is a blatant and pathetic attempt to try and deflect a story that has rightly incited cries of outrage from every corner of this country. There's a reason that even a conservative bastion like RedState.com would, in a post headlined 'Today is the day Nan Hayworth lost NY-19 for us,' say 'it’s going to be difficult to defend [Townsend's] suggestion.' There's a reason that a non-partisan media trainer commented simply that this was 'a fireable offense.' There's a reason so many people were disgusted by such a flippant reference to a barbaric practice that is almost exclusively used to silence courageous women."

"This is offensive language, pure and simple, and Nan Hayworth should condemn it and fire her spokesman for using it. That she's defending him instead is extremely depressing and absolutely unbelievable."

Later, Mr. Becker send out a fundraising email on the matter headlined "Let's hurl some acid at those female democratic senators."

You probably thought you read the subject line incorrectly - but no - it's correct. Nan Hayworth's spokesperson crossed the line and actually called on people to "hurl some acid at those female Democratic Senators." To make matters worse, "No Comment" Nan is doing what she always does in these situations: absolutely nothing. In fact, she's even defending the indefensible and standing by the spokesperson.

My campaign has been cited in the press for months calling out Hayworth over her and her campaign's extreme, hypocritical comments and behavior.

• For her ties to Congressman Grimm's shady fundraising practices, which she denied (Journal News, Times Herald-Record).
• For her hypocritical stance on franking (Poughkeepsie Journal).
• For her failure to say anything about the misogynistic comments coming from Limbaugh back in March (Politicker).
• And now, for her failure to do anything about hateful comments made by her spokesperson (NATIONAL PRESS).

Hayworth's spokesperson, and Hayworth's inaction, crosses a line, and people are responding. Acid attacks on women are used almost exclusively to silence and punish women across the globe who’ve bravely spoken out on behalf of their human rights. That's why the Huffington Post article has generated over 4,000 comments in a day. Rhetoric like this has no place in our political discourse, and it is time we do something about it.

If you're outraged as I am, contribute $20 today to help defeat "No Comment" Nan Hayworth.

If you've been sitting this election out, if you've been waiting for a reason to get involved, if you've been sitting on the fence for any reason - here is your call to action. Nan Hayworth has done nothing to punish this person who works for her, in fact, she's defended him. She must be defeated in November. We cannot afford to lose this election - it is too important.

And so, I'm asking for help. We're 25 days away from a primary that could very well determine the outcome of the November election. For all of the terrible things she's done, Hayworth can still win this if we pick the wrong candidate. We need someone who will stand up and fight for the Hudson Valley - like I have; someone who knows this community and who has lived here for over 30 years - like I have; and someone who will go toe-to-toe with Hayworth as a doctor, small business owner, and community activist - like I will.

Make sure Nan Hayworth is a one-term Congressperson. Contribute $20 to our campaign today.

Thank you for your support,

-Dr. Richard Becker

Dr. Richard Becker (Photo: Facebook)

"With every minute 'No Comment' Nan refuses to take a stand, she takes on responsibility for Jay's hateful and hurtful remarks," Mr. Becker said. "Refusing to take a stand now and fire Townsend would permanently mark Nan as unfit to hold public office and unworthy of the public's trust."

Mr. Becker describes the reference to throwing acid as "particularly sickening."

"Acid attacks on women have a disturbing and disgusting history--they're used almost exclusively to silence and punish women across the globe who've bravely spoken out on behalf of their human rights," he said.

He also claimed Mr. Townsend's comments were "likely illegal."

"Threats to physically harm elected officials for disagreeing with you are specifically banned by federal law for a very good reason; they're just never acceptable, and are particularly corrosive in a democracy," said Mr. Becker. "The fact that these comments are likely illegal only highlights how far out of bounds they were--and how absurd it is that Jay Townsend is, as of this moment, still Nan Hayworth's official spokesman."

Mr. Becker finished his statement about the "acid attack" comments with a reference to the 2011 shooting of former Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords.

"Words have power, words this symbolic especially so," Mr. Becker said. "Last January, the US Congress saw some of the ugly and real - even if unintended - consequences of calls for political violence. I would have hoped Nan Hayworth learned the same lessons from that tragedy that the rest of us did."

As of this writing, Mr. Townsend has not responded to a request for comment on this story.

It appears as if a spokesman for Nan Hayworth, the Republican incumbent, responded on a Facebook thread to a local Democratic activist who had criticized an early post of his by saying:

Listen to Tom. What a little bee he has in his bonnet. Buzz Buzz. My question today...when is Tommy boy going to weigh in on all the Lilly Ledbetter hypocrites who claim to be fighting the War on Women? Let’s hurl some acid at those female democratic Senators who won’t abide the mandates they want to impose on the private sector.

The spokesman, Jay Townsend, ran on the GOP line in 2010 for the Senate against Chuck Schumer.

Responded Becker campaign spokesman Barry Caro:

I'd be fired - immediately and with cause - if I said stuff like this. Which begs the question: why is Jay Townsend still Nan Hayworth's spokesman," asked Becker campaign spokesman Barry Caro. "Does she agree that 'bin Laden is dead in spite of Obama?' Does she agree that we should 'hurl some acid' at politicians her campaign disagrees with? These comments are simply unprofessional and should never cross the lips of a Congressional spokesman."

"This isn't some obscure supporter or no-name right wing provocateur, and we're not playing 'six degrees of condemnation.' This is Nan Hayworth's official campaign spokesman saying some truly disturbing things on her behalf. The people of this district deserve to know whether Nan thinks what her spokesman is saying is ok - and if not, what she's going to do about it.

Mr. Townsend's comments were sparked by an earlier post which criticized Ms. Hayworth for not crediting Mr. Obama for a recent drop in gas prices.

"Rather like Obama claiming credit for killing bin Laden. Oil prices down and bin Laden is dead in spite of Obama," he wrote.

Mr. Becker is facing a multi-candidate Democratic primary that includes Sean Patrick Maloney, a former adviser to former Gov. Eliot Spitzer and Matt Alexander, the mayor of Wappingers Falls.