Republican Bob Turner upended the political world Tuesday evening, defeating Democratic Assemblyman David Weprin to capture the House seat held by disgraced former Rep. Anthony Weiner.

The Associated Press called the race at 11:57 for Turner, a 70-year-old former television producer, making him the first Republican to represent that area in nearly a century. Though Weprin told supporters just after midnight that he was still waiting for absentee ballots to be counted, he is not expected to make up the deficit.

With 63 percent of precincts reporting, Turner led Weprin 53 percent to 47 percent.

“This is an historic race. We’ve been asked by the people of this district to send a message to Washington and I hope they heard it loud and clear. We have been told this is referendum and we’re ready to say, ‘Mr. President, we are on the wrong track,” Turner told supporters shortly after midnight.

“I am telling you, I am a messenger. Heed us,” Turner added.

The loss of a safe seat in the Brooklyn-Queens district will surely produce soul-searching among Democrats and postmortems about what the loss means, along with its implications for President Obama’s re-election in 2012.

It will be seen and spun as simultaneously a referendum on Obama’s handling of the economy, his policy toward Israel, the unique demographics of the NY-9 and the weakness of Weprin, an awkward campaigner who was never able to out razzle-dazzle his opponent.

If anything, the special election to fill the seat of Weiner, who resigned under the cloud of a sexting scandal, is the opposite number of the special election to fill the seat of Rep. Chris Lee, who left office after sending sexually explicit photos on the Internet.

His district, long a Republican western New York stronghold, went to Democrat Kathy Hochul.

And both of those districts may be erased next year once redistricting is completed in 2012. New York is expected to lose two seats in the House of Representatives.

Meanwhile, the election is a victory for maverick Democrat Ed Koch, the former New York City mayor who backed Turner. Koch recorded a lively robocall for Turner and campaigned on his behalf.

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