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Former New York City Congressman Anthony Weiner is ending a rough year with some good news.

Texas Governor Rick Perry took time out of his first major fundraising swing in New York City to blame the Obama administration’s “policy of appeasement” for encouraging Palestinians to seek statehood recognition in a United Nations vote this week.

“We would not be here today at the precipice of such a dangerous move if the Obama policy in the Middle East wasn’t naïve, arrogant, misguided and dangerous,” Perry said, standing in front of assembled local Jewish leaders and American and Israeli flags.

Yesterday, there was a special election for the New York Congressional seat left vacant by disgraced Democratic Congressman Anthony Weiner. The largely Democratic district would logically have gone to Democratic Assemblyman David Weprin, but due to myriad political factors Republican businessman Bob Turner won the race.

In a district where 74 percent of voters told pollsters that they believe the country’s on the wrong track, voters wanted no more of the status quo. By an 8-point margin, the voters who turned out in the special Congressional election in Queens and Brooklyn opted for Republican newcomer Bob Turner over Democratic Party Assemblyman David Weprin.

Turner was quick to declare himself a harbinger of things to come. “I am telling you. I am the messenger. Heed us,” he declared in a victory speech early Wednesday morning. “This message will resound for a full year. It will resound into 2012.”

Happy Election Day. Throughout the day we'll be updating this post with news from the campaign trail, as well as interesting info from around the web. We'll be with the candidates up until the race is decided so check back in regularly. You can also see the returns come in for the race here.

12:14 AM

From WNYC correspondent Yasmeen Khan

Turner supporters started the chant, "Yes we can!" -- a jab at Obama supporters. Turner quieted the crowd saying, "It's still me up here."

Turner is all smiles: "Maybe we started something," he said. "I sure hope so."

He says he starts work on Thursday

12:10 AM

From WNYC correspondent Yasmeen Khan

Turner has his whole family on stage and is giving a victory speech

12:08 AM

After giving the briefest of comments, Weprin headed straight for the door. Turner's victory speech is playing on the television as Weprin supporters followed Weprin's lead.

By It's a Free Country blogger Stephen Reader

A sample ballot for tomorrow's special election. (WNYC)

Remember Anthony Weiner? Man! Where did the summer go?

Anyway, that guy is gone and after tomorrow we'll have a new representative of New York's 9th congressional district. The candidates are Republican Bob Turner and Democrat David Weprin, and the contest is being cast as a referendum on Barack Obama, etc.

Maybe you didn't know there was an election tomorrow. Maybe you don't know if you're even in this oh-so-coveted and exotic 9th district. Your eighth grade civics teacher would be ashamed. What's a New Yorker to do?

President Barack Obama continues his jobs tour this week, with stops in Columbus, Ohio and Raleigh-Durham, N.C., rallying support for his jobs plan. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is expected to speak at a conference on regulation of systemic risk on Thursday, five days before the Federal Open Market Committee begins its meetings next week. Tonight, is the first Tea Party debate, which GOP presidential hopefuls Michele Bachmann, Mitt Romney and Rick Perry are expected to attend. And Anthony Weiner's old Congressional seat in New York's ninth district is up for grabs in a special election tomorrow.

Bob Turner, Republican candidate in the September 13 special election, talks about his run as the Republican candidate to replace Anthony Weiner as Representative for New York's 9th Congressional district.

→Add Your Comments, Listen and Read a Recap at It's A Free Country

Turning a Congressional special election into a referendum on President Obama’s policies towards Israel makes perfect sense – to former Mayor Edward Koch. Koch, after all, thought up the idea and is off and running in pursuit of his plan to treat the local contest for a Queens-Brooklyn seat like an exercise in foreign policy.

To pretty much everyone else, even friends and supporters who generally agree with him, Koch’s latest quest is quite a stretch in both logic and politics.

The special election to fill the seat left vacant by the resignation of Anthony Weiner in the 9th District has been set by Governor Andrew Cuomo for September 13. While local party bosses mull their options for candidates, the deadline for their nominations is nearly here.

In accordance with special election rules, it will be the local party bosses who nominate the candidates for the seat. Queens Republican Party Chairman Phil Ragusa says the candidate each party is backing must be chosen by July 11. That is the date by which the party has to submit paperwork to the Board of Elections, declaring that their party has decided to nominate the candidate.

New York Democrats are lining up to fill Anthony Weiner's seat in the 9th District special election, which is scheduled to take place later this year. But there's more for party bosses to consider than just who makes the strongest candidate.

The astounding crash and burn story of Congressman Anthony Weiner is as tired, tawdry and old as the primitive brainstem impulses that brought it about. It is also a story unimaginable outside of the digital age. The blurty, disruptive Tweets and urges to snap a picture and construct an unintentional global billboard don’t go anywhere without the Internet. The endocrine waste of an unrestrained Id can’t become a national political obsession without the enabling technology of digital cameras that fit on the heads of pins more comfortably than angels in another age. Impulses become objects. The objects abruptly acquire a meaning even as they lose their original context. You might say that, “In the present everything will be meaningful for 15 minutes and exist online forever.” (Andy Warhol just tweeted that to me.)

Disgraced Congressman Anthony Weiner submitted his letter of resignation on Monday.

It's A Free Country political reporter Anna Sale weighs in on the resignation of Anthony Weiner and what comes next, from special elections to redistricting battles.

→ Add Your Comments on the Weiner Legacy, Read a Recap, and Listen at It's A Free Country

Now that Rep. Anthony Weiner has announced his resignation, It's A Free Country takes a look at some of the possible contenders for that Ninth District seat.