ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - A Conservative Party candidate has withdrawn his concession in a close special election for a U.S. House seat, and New York election officials are beginning to count paper ballots.

Doug Hoffman made the announcement that he's "unconceding" on Glenn Beck's national radio show Monday.

Hoffman's spokesman, Rob Ryan, says that the campaign is looking at the remaining military, absentee and paper ballots. Counting the more than 10,000 paper ballots could take days.

Democrat Bill Owens was sworn into Congress after he was declared the winner of the Nov. 3 election. The latest results show him ahead by about 3,000 votes.

The race exposed a schism in the Republican Party with national figures backing Hoffman over the GOP nominee.