what to know
- The strong performance of Republicans on Long Island came after the city’s suburbs emerged as an unlikely battleground for House control.
- Republicans scored unexpectedly strong results in Long Island’s local elections last year, prompting candidates to seek possible victories in two congressional districts now represented by Democrats.
- Republicans were also in tight contests in the Hudson Valley and Catskills congressional districts.
NEW YORK – Republican candidates for the United States House of Representatives have won multiple victories in suburban New York City, taking their places in an area once considered safe for Democrats, defending others and appearing to be on the verge of scoring further victories in the party districts hasn’t won in years.
The strong performance of Republicans on Long Island came after the city’s suburbs emerged as an unlikely battleground for House control. Several closely watched contests were still too early to be called on Wednesday morning, including the contest for the re-election of United States Representative Sean Patrick Maloney.
By early Wednesday, Republicans had won at least seven seats in Congress from New York, just one less than their current representation in the state delegation. They were leading or within a percentage point of the lead in five other contests.
Republicans scored unexpectedly strong results in Long Island’s local elections last year, prompting candidates to seek possible victories in two congressional districts now represented by Democrats.
In one, Republican George Santos defeated Democrat Robert Zimmerman in what was the first known congressional election with two openly gay candidates.
This was Santos’ second candidacy for Congress. Two years ago, he lost by a sizable margin to American Tom Suozzi, a Democrat who gave up a chance for re-election in a failed government bid.
In the other, Democrat Laura Gillen, a single-mandate attorney and supervisor for the city of Hempstead, was in close competition with Republican Anthony D’Esposito, a member of the Hempstead City Council and former NYPD detective. City. York.
Elsewhere on Long Island, Republican Andrew Garbarino defeated Democrat Jackie Gordon in a race on Long Island’s south coast. His victory was a repeat of a victory over Gordon in a district with different borders two years ago.
And Republican Nicholas LaLota defeated Democrat Bridget Fleming in a reworked version of the congressional district now represented by United States Representative Lee Zeldin, who has decided not to seek re-election in order to be the Republican candidate for governor.
One of the bluest states in the nation, New York has become a boon to Republicans due to voter dissatisfaction and a more favorable political map.
Maloney, who as chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee was supposed to lead his party’s bid to cling to the House, was fighting for survival in his Hudson Valley borough against the Republican State Assembly member. Mike Lawler, who led a vigorous campaign focusing on the high cost of gasoline and other pocket problems.
Maloney, who was the first openly gay New Yorker elected to Congress, had a record win in a Republican-leaning district, but the reorganization plan has put him in reconfigured territory where fewer voters know him.
National Republican groups, sensing an opportunity, spent millions on advertising in support of Lawler, a former executive director of the state GOP who worked in local government prior to his election to the Assembly in 2020.
Republicans were also in tight contests in the Hudson Valley and Catskills congressional districts. Such an outcome seemed unlikely earlier this year, when the Democrat-controlled state legislature redrawed the lines of New York’s congressional district along party-friendly lines.
However, the courts eliminated those maps, citing procedural errors and blatant bias. A court appointee then drew new maps of the state’s 26 convention districts, which prioritized creating as many competitive districts as possible.
This allowed Republicans to run to more favorable districts, where they relentlessly attacked Democrats for inflation and fear of crime.
Democratic candidates stressed support for abortion rights following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Some present themselves as champions of democracy, running against Republicans who have not accepted the results of the 2020 presidential elections.
New York City’s only Republican representative, Nicole Malliotakis, won her rematch with Democrat Max Rose in a borough consisting of Staten Island and part of Brooklyn. Rose represented Staten Island in Congress until Malliotakis ousted him in 2020.
In the Rochester area, US Representative Joe Morelle, a Democrat, defeated Republican challenger La’Ron Singletary. Singletary was removed from office as Rochester Police Chief in 2020 for handling the death of Daniel Prude, a black man who suffocated while officers kept him on the street. He was deprived of life support a week later.
In the Hudson Valley, new United States Representative Pat Ryan, a Democrat, is looking to replicate his surprise victory in an August special election.
Ryan raised the morale of the Democrats after winning a race to end the tenure of former United States Representative Antonio Delgado, who resigned to become New York Lieutenant Governor.
Ryan campaigned strongly for abortion rights, and the National Democrats were hoping his victory would provide a roadmap for more Congressional victories in November.
He then ran for an entire term in a different district against Republican Colin Schmitt, a second-term state assembly member who campaigned on economic issues and his service as a sergeant in the Army National Guard.
The race looked extremely tight early Wednesday morning, but Schmitt admitted nonetheless, saying he hoped Ryan would “do great things for our Hudson Valley families.” The Associated Press has not declared a winner of the contest.
The Republican Ryan defeated in the special election, Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro, is now running closely with Democrat Josh Riley in a sprawling new district that stretches from the Massachusetts border to Ithaca, a small town in the region. of the Finger Lakes. which is home to Cornell University.
A hotly watched race in upstate New York is in the Syracuse area, where Republican Representative John Katko will leave after four terms. That contest sees Republican Brandon Williams versus Democrat Francis Conole.
Williams, a first-time candidate living outside the district, is a United States Navy veteran and tech entrepreneur who moved to the region full-time several years ago. Conole is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy and currently Captain in the United States Naval Reserve. The Syracusan resident has never held elective positions.
