By Marie Horrigan, CQ Staff

The ongoing personal saga of New York Rep. Vito J. Fossella has raised questions about his future in Congress — and the fate of the only Republican-held House district in New York City.

Fossella’s admission Thursday that he fathered a child outside of his marriage, which came on the heels of a May 1 drunken driving arrest, has led to rumors he may resign. Because so many pieces of the race remain unsettled, CQ Politics is changing its rating on the race from Safe Republican to No Clear Favorite.

In his statement Thursday, Fossella hinted that he intended to serve out the balance of his term. “Over the coming weeks and months, I will continue to do my job and I will work hard to heal the deep wounds I have caused,” he said. But the political damage has led to pressure from some top Republicans for Fossella to step down from the seat he has held since 1997.

If he were to resign on or before July 1, New York Gov. David A. Paterson would issue a call for a special election to fill the remainder of his term. If Fossella resigned after July 1 the seat would remain vacant until the November election.

Much of the rest of the election calendar would remain the same — the candidate filing deadline for the primary is July 10 and the primary is Sept. 9.

Even before his arrest, Democrats had their eyes on Fossella’s seat because of his relatively weak showing in 2006, when he received less than 60 percent of the vote against a severely underfunded Democratic opponent.

“This is a race that we’ve been targeting for a long time, and we believe that it’s a district that is certainly winnable,” said Carrie James, a spokeswoman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “We’re ready for an election now, or we’ll be ready in November.”

Two Democrats are seeking the nomination. Stephen A. Harrison held Fossella to the lowest winning percentage of his House career in 2006, despite being outspent 10 to 1. Also running is New York City Council member Domenic M. Recchia Jr.

Recchia is on track to outraise Harrison; as of April 1, the date of the most recent campaign finance report, Recchia reported raising $350,000 while Harrison reported raising $151,000. Fossella reported raising $851,000.

Several Republican names have been floated as possible replacement candidates should Fossella resign or retire, including Staten Island District Attorney Daniel M. Donovan Jr., state Sen. Andrew Lanza and New York City Council members James Oddo and Vincent Ignizio.

Democrats hold a 46 percent to 29 percent registration advantage over Republicans in the district, which covers all of Staten Island and part of southwest Brooklyn. However, the 13th District was the only New York City district to give the majority of the vote (55 percent) to President Bush in 2004.

Republicans sounded a positive note about holding the seat. “The people of New York’s 13th District will continue to send Republican representation to Congress to fight for a stronger economy and a more secure country,” said Julie Shutley, spokeswoman for the National Republican Campaign Committee.