Post also believed that (in retrospect, just four months before declaration of the State of Israel) "According to all seasoned political observers, it was the Palestine issue that gave the victory to Leo Isacson, the Henry Wallace-American Labor Party candidate, in the special congressional election in the Bronx. This overwhelming upset of the strong Bronx machine of Edward J. Flynn indicates what political dynamite there is in Palestine, for a President now eagerly seeking reelection and clearly dependent on carrying such States as New York" (the "President" here referring to Truman). On February 21, 1948, the Progressive Party formed its Michigan chapter. On February 23, 1948, The New York Times was still analyzing the election in an article whose headline read "Isacson's Victory Is Aid to Wallace in Major States" with the subtitle "Adds Strength to Third-Party Movement for Presidency, A Survey Discloses". The Times stated that Wallace had gained Electoral College support in the states of Michigan, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and California. However, on February 25, 1948, the victory diminished somewhat when Simon W. Gerson, candidate for the New York City Council to fill the seat of the late communist council member Peter V. Cacchione, found himself denied a council seat when council members voted 14 to 4 against him. The four council members who supported his candidacy were: Benjamin J. Davis Jr. ("Harlem Communist"), Michael J. Quill ("Bronx Laborite"), Eugene P. Connolly ("Manhattan Laborite"), and Stanley M. Isaacs ("Manhattan Republican"). Afterwards, "warning that "all the Wallace forces are behind the seating of Mr. Gerson, Mr. Connolly said he would introduce another resolution to seat him at a later date." Councilman Edward Rager ("Manhattan Republican") said the underlying issue over Gerson was Communism; Rager also said Communists were "largely responsible" for Leo Isacson's election. Quill, who had supported Isacson, "denied that Communists had won that election". U.S. Congress Isacson served from February 17, 1948, to January 3, 1949. By one measure, Isacson was the second most liberal person to serve in Congress between 1937 and 2002 (second only to William H. Meyer). He opposed the Marshall Plan and the peacetime draft, and was one of three Congressmen to oppose legislation to increase the size of the Air Force. He also pushed for immediate recognition of the State of Israel. He also changed the situation for fellow ALP New York Representative Vito Marcantonio. Until Isacson's election, as commentator Drew Pearson wrote