The endorsement delivers a perhaps fatal blow to Hall's candidacy. He won the seat in 2006 when the ultra-orthodox sect there broke for him. As Maggie Haberman reported, Democrats have been pulling out all of the stops to get the religious leaders to back Hall, with Bill Clinton making a call to village leaders.

Polls show Hall and Hayworth basically tied, but the seat has a tendency to flip sides in wave elections, and observers on both sides of the aisle think that Hayworth has an advantage in a toss-up.