Democrat Bill Owens is an attorney and businessman who was elected to the United States House of Representatives in New York's District 23.http://owens.house.gov/Biography/ He won in a special election in 2009 due to the resignation of Republican Representative John McHugh, who left in order to take the position of Secretary of Army appointed to him by President Barack Obama.http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2009/08/democrats_nominate_bill_owens.html Owens defeated Republican challenger Matt Doheny in the 2010 midterm elections.http://www.whorunsgov.com/Profiles/William_L._Owens

Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman, who had lost to Owens in the 2009 special election as the Republican candidate, helped to split the vote between Owens and Republican rival Matt Doheny in the 2010 midterm elections.http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2010/11/bill_owens_defeats_matt_doheny.html Even though Hoffman withdrew from the campaign, his name was still on the ballot.http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2010/11/bill_owens_defeats_matt_doheny.html With the support of the Tea Party, he won nearly ten percent of the vote, allowing Owens to take the seat with 50 percent, over Doheny's 40 percent.http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2010/11/bill_owens_defeats_matt_doheny.html Owens is the first Democrat in 152 years to win a full term in New York's District 23.

A Brooklyn native, William Owens graduated from Manhattan College in 1971 and from Fordham University in 1974 with a J.D.http://www.congress.org/bio/id/11725 After law school, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and served as a captain at Plattsburgh Air Force Base in New York.http://owens.house.gov/Biography/ Owens completed his service and became a managing partner at Stafford, Owens, Piller, Murnane, and Trombley law firm, specializing in business and tax law.http://owens.house.gov/Biography/ Before becoming a Congressman, Owens had never run for public office.http://owens.house.gov/Biography/

Owens's campaign during the special election in 2009 focused on bringing jobs to New York state and protecting dairy farmers and Fort Drum military base in his district.http://www.whorunsgov.com/Profiles/William_L._Owens One of his first acts as a Congressman in 2009 was voting for the Democratic Party's federally funded healthcare plan.http://www.whorunsgov.com/Profiles/William_L._Owens Owens supports luring foreign companies to place manufacturing operations in the United States.http://www.observer.com/4850/meet-bill-owens-dccc-approved-non-democrat-house He is against full same-sex marriage and believes it to be a states rights issue.http://www.observer.com/4850/meet-bill-owens-dccc-approved-non-democrat-house Owens is a member of the Committees on Agriculture, Armed Services and Homeland Security.http://www.congress.org/bio/id/11725