N.Y. Republicans pick candidate for vacant Rep. Lee seat

Republican leaders from New York’s 26th district have picked a candidate to run in the upcoming special election for the seat.

The district has been without representation since former Rep. Chris Lee left the House on Feb. 9 after the website Gawker.com reported the married Republican solicited a romantic encounter over the Internet, even sending the woman a photo of himself where he is shirtless.

{mosads}New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) has 30 days to call a special election after a vacancy is declared, although it’s unclear when that will happen.

Meanwhile, GOP leaders from the seven counties in the district picked state Assemblywoman Jane Corwin as their nominee during a meeting in Geneseo on Monday night.

Corwin said she was “humbled” by their support and touted her rating as the “the second most conservative member” of the state Assembly by the New York State Conservative Party.

“I know we need to slash federal spending, balance the budget, end the bailouts, take leftover money from the Obama stimulus package to pay down the deficit and support repealing Obamacare,” she said in a statement.

“Demanding fiscal responsibility in Washington and creating jobs in our communities in Western New York will be my priorities should I be this region’s Representative in Congress.”

The National Republican Congressional Committee called Corwin a “strong conservative candidate.”

“She understands that the best ideas come from outside Washington and so do the best candidates,” Andrea Bozek, an NRCC spokeswoman, said in a statement.

Democrats haven’t yet picked a candidate to run in the Republican-leaning district.