Republican Will Barclay's bid for an upstate State Senate seat got an eleventh-hour boost as the Court of Appeals late Monday put him back on the Independence Party ballot line, on the eve of his special election against Democrat Darrel Aubertine.
The Court of Appeals ruling overturns two lower court decisions which had stricken Barclay's name from the minor party ballot in the neck-and-neck race on which Republican control of the state Senate might hang.
Republicans currently have a 32-29, edge, but if Democrats win, some say that one or more GOP lawmakers could switch sides.
UPDATE: The high court, in a 7-0 decision, found that "Aubertine is not an aggrieved candidate" because, as a non-party member, he lacks standing to challenge the party's compliance with its own rules.
Rick Brand