In a major upset victory for President Joe Biden‘s party, New York Democrat Pat Ryan narrowly beat Republican Marc Molinaro in a race that remained in a dead heat nearly until midnight on Wednesday.
Multiple outlets including the New York Times and NBC News called the race for Ryan with more than 95 percent of the votes counted – and less than 3,000 votes between the two candidates.
Ryan will now serve the remainder of former Democrat Rep. Antonio Delgado’s term, until the end of the year. Delgado left the House of Representatives to serve as New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s lieutenant governor.
The Ulster County Executive had a wide lead immediately after polls closed, but Dutchess County Executive Molinaro significantly narrowed the gap as mail-in and early ballots – usually majority Democrat – were overtaken by Election Day voters who primarily skew Republican.
The special election for New York’s 19th Congressional District had for weeks been viewed as a likely Republican victory, with polls even days before Election Day projecting Molinaro in the lead. The swing district voted for Barack Obama in 2012, Trump in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020.
The Hudson Valley race was also being watched as a possible bellwether for November’s midterm elections – where likewise Republicans had been expected to win the majority in the House.
But projections were upended after the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade in June sent an unprecedented shockwave through midterm voters…
