Well, it's going to be a while before we find out the results of the special election in California for "Duke" Cunningham's seat. Democrats hope the Cunningham scandal will allow them to snatch up the seat, and are claiming such a victory will be a sign of things to come in November. Of course, they're also spinning their potential defeat as a victory.

Well before Election Day, some Democrats claimed victory just by forcing a fight for the seat.

"If I get close, then we've made the point that this is no longer a safe seat, but it's not enough," Busby said in a recent interview. "We want to win."

The bottom line is this. If they win, it won't be because of the Democratic agenda. It will be because of backlash against the Republican candidate because of Cunningham. If Busby loses... it's a loss. Plain and simple. Daily Kos may try to spin defeat as a victory, but let's be honest here, if Busby loses, but does better than past Democrats in that district, it will be a result of the scandal, and not necessarily a shift in the district to the Democrats' favor in the long term.

Anyway, I doubt I'll be up when the results are in. So I guess I'll find out tomorrow.

UPDATE, by Mark Noonan, 3:00am Eastern time: Some results are in, and it looks like GOPer Brian Bilbray has held the seat for the GOP. WIth 46.4% of the vote counted, Bilbray has 50%, Democrat Busby 45%. More as more returns come in.

UPDATE: Follow up... The Bellwether Forecast... Good For GOP...

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