But he had high hopes . . .

A special election was held in NY for the 20th Congressional district, where Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand was appointed to fill Hillary Clinton's Senate seat.

Jim Tedisco, NY State Assembly Minority Leader, was picked to run for the R's. Scott Murphy, a non-politician, ran for the D's. Just a few weeks ago, Tedisco was up by 20 points. As of tonight, with some ballots yet to be counted, we know 3 things:

• Murphy is up by a few hundred votes.
• Tedisco filed a bullshit complaint (faxed from Staples!) before today's preliminary results were announced. (Warning: PDF [h/t FDL]).
• Michael Steele's future as anything other than Rush Limbaugh's lawn jockey may depend on this race.

This election ultimately changes nothing. The House is firmly under Democratic control, 1 vote either way doesn't matter. But I'll bet Steele doesn't feel that way. Other than alienating nearly everyone, raising less cash than needed, firing RNC staff, he's done pretty well.

For a FAIL.