Republican scores upset by winning Democratic seat in New York

The Anthony Weiner scandal dealt another blow to the Democratic party on Tuesday when the Republicans stormed to victory in a special election for his former congressional seat in New York City.

Bob Turner became the first Republican to win New York's ninth congressional district since 1920, capitalising on voter discontent with the grim state of the economy and the lagging popularity of the Obama administration.

With three registered Democrats to every Republican in the district, Turner's victory was remarkable even discounting the controversy over Weiner's demise after sending sleazy photographs and messages to women he contacted through Twitter and Facebook.

The prospects of the Democratic candidate, David Weprin, were said to have been hurt by the district's heavy concentration of orthodox Jewish voters, unhappy with Washington's policies towards Israel.

Weprin is an orthodox Jew, and his opponent Turner a Catholic. Weprin, a local council member, backed plans to build a mosque and Muslim cultural centre in lower Manhattan, an issue likely to have cost him support.

Reince Priebus, chairman of the Republican National Committee, said: "Even in the heart of New York City, in a traditionally liberal district, voters have turned on the president and his congressional allies."

With more than 80% of the ballots counted, Turner led Weprin by six percentage points, a solid margin of victory in a district that backed Obama by 11 percentage points in 2008.

In another House of Representatives byelection held on Tuesday, Republicans easily held Nevada's second congressional district, with Mark Amodei crushing his Democratic opponent.

With 90% of ballots counted, Amodel trounced Kate Marshall by 58% to 37%. The scale of Amodel's victory is likely to worry Democrat strategists seeking a 2012 repeat of Obama's winning performance in Nevada in 2008.