Democrats may have expected former Representative Anthony Weiner’s New York seat to be a slam dunk for their party, but in today’s special election to replace Weiner, the Democrats stand a very real chance of losing it to the Republicans.

On MSNBC today, Mellisa Harris-Perry says the political outlook for President Barack Obama and the Democrats will be dismal if the GOP takes the seat. The seat for the 9th District in New York may by itself be a relatively insignificant foothold for the Democrats, the party losing another seat in the House as President Obama is working hard to pass his jobs bill would be "demoralizing" to an already pretty demoralized party, says Harris-Perry.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

—Jin Zhao