The Republican party is dealt their third defeat in a special election this year. Democrat Travis Childers joins Bill Foster and Don Cazayoux as a newly elected member of Congress and members of a small but growing number of Democrats elected by the early edge of the 2008 wave. There may be one more special election up in New York before November, another chance for the Democrats to show momentum heading into the fall. Things are not good in GOP land:

Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), issued a somber and self-reflective statement following the loss, saying Republicans were “disappointed” and that they need to prepare to run against Democrats campaigning as conservatives.

“Though the Democrats’ task will be more difficult in a November election, the fact is they have pulled off two special election victories with this strategy” in Louisiana and Mississippi “and it should be a concern to all Republicans,” Cole said.

Cole added that “the political environment is such that voters remain pessimistic about the direction of the country and the Republican Party in general. Therefore, Republicans must undertake bold efforts to define a forward-looking agenda that offers the kind of positive change voters are looking for. This is something we can do in cooperation with our presidential nominee, but time is short.”