Enlarge By Mike Groll, AP New York's 23rd Congressional District Democratic candidate Bill Owens delivers his victory speech Wednesday at Democratic headquarters in Plattsburgh, N.Y.

WASHINGTON  A wildly unpredictable race for a House seat in Upstate New York gave Democrats their only high-profile victory Tuesday night in a contest both parties predicted would have implications for next year's congressional elections.

Democrat Bill Owens narrowly beat Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman in the down-to-the-wire race for New York's 23rd Congressional District — portions of which have been represented by Republicans for more than a century. Hoffman conceded early Wednesday.

The special election in the sprawling district that tracks along the Canadian border captured national attention as Republicans such as former Alaska governor Sarah Palin endorsed Hoffman over Republican Dede Scozzafava, who later dropped out of the race amid criticism of her conservative credentials.

Owens' win provided a glimmer of hope for Democrats in an off-year election that resulted in Republican victories in the Virginia and New Jersey gubernatorial races — but the race also emboldened conservatives.

Matt Kibbe of the conservative advocacy group FreedomWorks said the dramatic turn of events that took place before the election would put GOP incumbents on notice that they could face primaries if they don't adhere to the party's core principles.

"These are signals that tell fiscal conservatives to run and tell fiscal moderates — I would call them tax-and-spend representatives — they aren't going to win elections next year," Kibbe said. "You're seeing a shift in the center of gravity."

The district was held for 16 years by Republican John McHugh, who resigned after being named Army secretary by President Obama. Although the district leans Republican, Obama carried the district last year.

Tim Kaine, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said the GOP's intraparty feuding in New York will hurt the party in future races, too. "The all-out war between Republicans and the far right wing is a disaster for the Republican Party and will dog it well after today," he said.

Several possible Republican 2010 primaries, including in Florida's Senate race, are shaping up as fights between centrists and conservatives.

Chris Chocola, who heads the conservative Club for Growth, said the race was not evidence of a GOP civil war because Scozzafava was not really a moderate Republican but rather held views far left of the party's mainstream.