Senator Ball. (Photo: Observer media file)

GOP State Senator Greg Ball, an outspoken Hudson Valley legislator who repeatedly knocked then-Rep. Nan Hayworth last year--even threatening to run a primary campaign against her--is taking his hat out of the ring. In a statement released late this morning, Mr. Ball said he was focused on his work in Albany and had no overriding desire to defeat the Democrat who ultimately beat Ms. Hayworth, Sean Patrick Maloney.

“I want to make it clear that I am focused on finishing this legislative session and delivering for my current district and not running for Congress," he said. “As for my re-election in the current State Senate seat, I will make a final decision on that as the time nears.”

However, showing his rebellious size, Mr. Ball did manage to heap some praise on the Democratic incumbent, whom he said should be "applauded."

"Indeed, while I disagree with the current Congressman on most issues, we have a great working relationship and he and his office are to be applauded, for they have bent over backwards to mutually assist shared constituents,” Mr. Ball sated.

For her part, Ms. Hayworth has formed a new campaign account for a rematch with Mr. Maloney as Democrats prepare to defend their congressional victories in last year's elections.

(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:

Tim Bishop's record of failure apparently needs to end. (Photo: YouTube)

This morning, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce officially set its sights on six congressional races across New York State and launched ads in each of them. Stretching from Long Island to Buffalo, the broadcast barrage attacks Democratic congressional incumbents Tim Bishop, Kathy Hochul, Bill Owens and Louise Slaughter, and attempts to beat back Democratic candidates Sean Patrick Maloney and Dan Maffei.

The size of the ad buy wasn't immediately available, but the Chamber launched a significant $3.3 million campaign for California Republicans last week, so their New York  has the potential to be sizable.

The move is the latest sign New York, despite its staunchly blue status in the presidential race, will be a pivotal battleground for control of the U.S. House this November. Republicans gained more seats in the Empire State than anywhere else in the United States during 2010's Tea Party wave, and with a court-drawn redistricting map scrambling the boundaries for incumbents of both parties, plenty of additional outside spending is sure to come.

View the ads below.

Against Long Island Rep. Tim Bishop:

Against Western New York Rep. Kathy Hochul:

Against Rochester Rep. Louise Slaughter:

Against North Country Rep. Bill Owens:

Against Syracuse candidate Dan Maffei:

Against Hudson Valley candidate Sean Patrick Maloney:

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.

Sean Patrick Maloney (Photo: Facebook)

Despite the criticism his field of rivals occasionally leveled at him before last Tuesday's Democratic primary, attorney Sean Patrick Maloney's defeated opponents are all rallying together to support his candidacy later this afternoon. Joining Mr. Maloney are Dr. Richard Becker, Mayors Matt Alexander and Tom Wilson, and Duane Jackson, as well as former congressmen Maurice Hinchey and John Hall.

"Tuesday was a big night, but we’ve got a tough road ahead of us and we need to come together if we are going to defeat Nan Hayworth," Mr. Maloney explained in an email to supporters last week.

During the primary, Mr. Becker and Mr. Alexander lobbed a number of hits against Mr. Maloney, repeatedly accusing the Manhattan lawyer of being a carpetbagger in the Hudson Valley-based congressional district. Although Mr. Alexander also blasted Mr. Maloney as a "Wall Street Democrat," Mr. Becker's campaign was particularly aggressive on the subject.

“Democrats can’t defeat Nan Hayworth with an ethically compromised Albany and Washington insider whose mailing address is in Manhattan," Mr. Becker's spokesman said as the primary campaign was coming to a close, blasting "his record of secrecy, failure, and unethical behavior" and saying his nomination would be a "disaster," for example.

But it seems that was all said in the context of a heated campaign and defeating Ms. Hayworth is their top priority now.

Grace Meng declaring victory with a plethora of elected officials and press surrounding her.

After much tension and circumstance, today's primary elections for federal elections have come to a close, and there were few surprises to be found.

In each congressional race, the candidate of the conventional wisdom emerged victorious and all incumbents that sought to return to Washington D.C. next year are now set to do so -- at least in parts of heavily Democratic New York City where primary elections are the actual contest.

The list of primary champions includes Reps. Charlie Rangel, Nydia Velázquez and Yvette Clarke, with open seat contenders Hakeem Jeffries and Grace Meng added in as well.

In the U.S. Senate race, attorney Wendy Long defeated Re. Bob Turner and  Nassau County Comptroller George Maragos and will challenge Kirsten Gillibrand in the fall.

In the hotly contested race to challenge Hudson Valley Rep. Nan Hayworth, attorney Sean Patrick Maloney defeated his rivals and clinched the nomination.

Notably among the results, the much-hyped race between Councilman Charles Barron and Mr. Jeffries didn't turn out to be much of an affair after all. Mr. Jeffries absolutely dominated the vote, winning close to three quarters of the ballots.

(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.