Battle for Congressional seat heads to court

(CNN) - The battle for New York's 20th Congressional district heads to court today.

With all the ballots counted, Democrat Scott Murphy has a 273-vote lead over Republican Jim Tedisco, out of nearly 180,000 votes cast in the March 30 special election, according to unofficial results from the New York State Board of Elections. 

But more than 1,300 ballots have been laid aside based on objections from one side or the other, and attorneys from both camps will argue in court today over the status of those votes.

The Missouri-born Murphy, 39, is a millionaire venture capitalist. Tedisco, 58, is a longtime New York state lawmaker and ranking Republican in the State Assembly.

They're running to replace Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand, who was appointed to Hillary Clinton's former Senate seat by New York Gov. David Paterson.

Regardless of who wins the special election, the Democrats will continue to hold a large majority in the House of Representatives. But what normally would have been a local contest with little national interest partially evolved into an early referendum on President Barack Obama, his polices to jump-start the economy, and the reputations of the Democratic and Republican parties, as both national parties and their congressional committees poured money and resources into the race.