Well, Death IS Better Than Representing Staten Island ...

The Staten Island GOP just cannot catch a break. First, their incumbent candidate, Vito Fossella, admitted that the woman who bailed him out of jail after a drunk driving arrest was the mistress who had had his bastard child.

Now, the guy local GOP party hacks picked to run for his seat, Francis H. Powers, has dropped dead:

Mr. Powers, who had never before run for public office, agreed to run after a series of elected officials declined to enter the race.

So I think we can put this one in the Dem column.