Democratic Party officials, concerned about an unexpectedly tight special election for Congress in Brooklyn and Queens, are rallying to support their party’s nominee and prevent the embarrassment of losing a seat in a traditionally Democratic district.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, the state’s leading Democrat, said on Tuesday that polls suggested a “tough race” for the Democrat, Assemblyman David I. Weprin, but he expressed confidence that Mr. Weprin would prevail. “My people are talking to his campaign about the best way for me to be helpful,” Mr. Cuomo said.

The Sept. 13 election, in which Mr. Weprin will face a Republican, Bob Turner, will determine a replacement for Representative Anthony D. Weiner, a Democrat who resigned amid a scandal. The race is viewed as something of a bellwether, as Mr. Turner has tried to make the contest a referendum on President Obama.

On Tuesday, the two candidates debated twice, first on a radio program hosted by former Gov. David A. Paterson, and then at a forum hosted by two neighborhood newspapers at a church in Howard Beach, Queens.

At the forum, Mr. Turner wholeheartedly embraced the growing national interest in the race, telling some 200 people that their votes had the potential to rein in how Mr. Obama and Congress behaved in the next year.

“A Democratic loss here will scare the Democratic Party and its policy makers to an extent that they will be pushed further back to Israeli-friendliness and economic sanity,” Mr. Turner said, referring to two major themes of the campaign.

As in earlier debates, Mr. Turner struck a homespun tone, describing himself as a businessman who was simply fed up with the state of affairs in Washington.

Mr. Weprin cited his long political résumé dealing with budgets and portrayed himself as a protector of seniors.

“We need responsible cuts, but cuts with a scalpel, not with a hatchet,” he said. “We must preserve Social Security and Medicare.”

Mr. Turner said that financially, it would be impossible in the long term not to make significant changes to social programs that affect new retirees.

The crowd at the forum was boisterous at times, and a security guard roamed the hall to keep order. Both candidates found themselves in potentially awkward positions: Mr. Weprin, whom Mr. Turner has frequently tried to link to Mr. Obama, was asked directly whether he would support Mr. Obama in next year’s presidential election. Mr. Weprin approached the lectern and did not hesitate. “Yes,” he said.

And Mr. Turner found himself befuddled when he and Mr. Weprin were asked to name one corporate tax loophole they would like to close. After pondering the matter, Mr. Turner smiled widely and pleaded no contest. “As a Republican, I never met a loophole I didn’t like,” he said. “I really don’t know.” (Mr. Weprin cited tax breaks for companies that move jobs overseas.)

Also on Tuesday, as part of the intensified party effort to shore up the Weprin campaign, Senator Charles E. Schumer, a fellow Democrat who once represented the Ninth Congressional District, visited a senior center in Flushing, Queens, with Mr. Weprin. Over the last week, Mr. Weprin has received donations from several leading Congressional Democrats, including the chairwoman of the party’s national committee, Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, and the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Representative Steve Israel of New York.

Mr. Weprin has several key advantages heading into the election, including the backing of the Democratic machines in Brooklyn and Queens, as well as organized labor, which will help him with turnout. He also has a significant financial advantage, having reported last week raising about $450,000 through late August, more than twice what Mr. Turner raised in the same period.

But in recent days, Mr. Turner, a retired cable television executive, has appeared to be running strong, winning two key newspaper endorsements: The New York Post backed him on Tuesday, and The Daily News last Thursday. The New York Times had endorsed Mr. Weprin last Wednesday.

Mr. Turner has also benefited from discomfort among some elements of the district’s large Jewish community with Mr. Weprin’s support for same-sex marriage, and with Mr. Obama’s position that Israel’s pre-1967 border should be the basis for a Middle East peace agreement.

On Wednesday, Assemblyman Dov Hikind, a leader in the Orthodox community and a Democrat who has often endorsed Republican candidates, plans to endorse Mr. Turner, who has also been endorsed by former Mayors Edward I. Koch, a Democrat, and Rudolph W. Giuliani, a Republican. On Tuesday, former Gov. George E. Pataki endorsed Mr. Turner at a news conference outside Grand Central Terminal.

“If you like what’s happening in Washington, send a career politician to rubber-stamp more of the same,” Mr. Pataki, who is also a Republican, said. “If you want to change things, if you want to send a message to Washington that what they are doing is wrong, elect Bob Turner.”

On Friday, Mr. Turner received $5,000 contributions from the Republican National Committee and from the political action committee of another Republican, the House majority leader, Eric Cantor of Virginia. On Tuesday, he received $2,000 from the House speaker, John A. Boehner, Republican of Ohio.

(Source: NY Times)