representing parts of queens and the bronx coming up on 20 years, and here s the important part. he s number four on the democratic leadership chart. crowley had aspirations to someday be speaker of the house. and after he sent a stand-in to represent him at a recent debate, the new york times editorial board wrote, if you want to be speaker, don t take voters for granted. crowley s defeat will inevitably be compared to that of eric kanter, formerly of the gop leadership. he too did not tend to a political brush fire back home in his district. he is now a private citizen, which is apparently what congressman joe crowley will become in january. again, easily the biggest story to emerge from this pri night. for more, we have our national political correspondent, steve kornacki, at the big board. and with us from utah, nbc news capitol hill correspondent kasie hunt, who traveled west to covered the mitt romney race.