ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) 鈥� Democrats in New York unseated two first-term Republican incumbents in the U.S. House on Tuesday, one in the Hudson Valley and the other in a district that includes Syracuse, rolling back some recent GOP gains in the state.
New Yorkers were expected to play an outsized role Tuesday in helping determine as Republicans clung to suburban seats they won two years ago by seizing on , and Democrats tried to claw them back by warning that a right-wing Congress might ban abortion.
Democrat Josh Riley beat Rep. Marc Molinaro, a freshman incumbent in a district that stretches from the Massachusetts border to the Finger Lakes region.
Riley, an lawyer from Ithaca, campaigned on his support for abortion rights as well as calling for stronger border controls to counter Republican criticisms of federal immigration policy. Before he ran for office, Riley had once been a policy analyst at U.S. Department of Labor and previously served as general counsel to former U.S. Sen. Al Franken.
In central New York, Democratic state Sen. John Mannion defeated Republican Rep. Brandon Williams. Williams was considered one of the most vulnerable Republican incumbents this year because state Democratic leaders redrew his district to make it more favorable to their party.
Other closely watched congressional races that involved first-term Republicans unfolded and in the Hudson River Valley.
The slew of competitive elections underscore the hidden political complexity of New York, which is associated with Democrats like House Minority Leader and U.S. Rep. but has also given rise to Republican stars like U.S. Rep. , the chair of the House Republican Conference. Jeffries, Ocasio-Cortez and Stefanik all kept their seats Tuesday.
On Long Island, Republican U.S. Rep. Anthony D鈥橢sposito was in a tough rematch with Democrat Laura Gillen, a former town supervisor he defeated in 2022. The Associated Press had not declared a winner in the race as of early Wednesday morning, but Gillen claimed victory, saying in a statement that voters chose 鈥渃ommon sense over chaos and corruption.鈥�
Further out on Long Island, Republicans kept a House seat they鈥檝e held for a decade, as U.S. Rep. Nick LaLota defeated Democrat John Avlon, a former host and political analyst for CNN.
Democrats maintained control of a critical seat in the Hudson Valley, with U.S. Rep. Pat Ryan fending off Republican challenger Alison Esposito. Even as he celebrated his victory, Ryan, an Army veteran, acknowledged in a speech to supporters that the had left many Democrats in the room on edge.
鈥淚 know everybody is anxious right now, I鈥檓 anxious right now,鈥� he said, 鈥渂ut to a certain degree all you can control is what鈥檚 in your community.鈥�
On both sides, the strategy has been to play to moderate suburban voters while casting opponents as extremists.
In 2022, Republicans in New York City's suburbs thrived with campaigns that portrayed the nearby city as having become lawless during the pandemic. significantly since then, but Republicans have kept pressing crime as an issue while also trying to capitalize on suburban unease about and an influx of .
Democrats moved to mount a stronger defense to voters鈥� concerns about crime and immigration. They also hammered Republicans on 鈥� a tactic that didn't produce anticipated wins for the party two years ago in a state where abortion rights are not generally seen as .
Republican gains on Long Island were eroded last year when former U.S. Rep. was expelled from Congress after he was revealed to have and defrauded campaign donors.
Santos was replaced in a special election by Democratic U.S. Rep. , who previously represented the district for three terms before stepping down to challenge Gov. Kathy Hochul in 2022.
Suozzi won reelection Tuesday in a race against Republican Mike LiPetri, a former state lawmaker, a victory possibly aided by tweaks to the district鈥檚 boundaries earlier this year that trimmed out a more conservative section of Long Island.
In the suburbs north of New York City, Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler defeated former U.S. Rep. Mondaire Jones, a Democrat who previously represented part of the district before its boundaries were redrawn for the 2022 election.
The contest received extra attention in early October when The New York Times obtained a photo of in 2006 at a college Halloween party where he dressed as Michael Jackson. Lawler said the outfit was intended to be an homage to a childhood idol.
Lawler appeared to embrace the controversy when he declared victory late Tuesday, saying 鈥淔olks, tonight the Hudson Valley told Mondaire Jones to 鈥楤eat It!鈥欌�� after taking the stage while Jackson鈥檚 hit song played, and even throwing in a theatrical high kick.
In the one New York congressional race not involving an incumbent, Democrat George Latimer defeated Republican Dr. Miriam Levitt Flisser. Latimer had beaten U.S. Rep. Jamaal Bowman in a Democratic primary in June, making Bowman the first member of the progressive band of liberals known as the 鈥淪quad鈥� .
Anthony Izaguirre, The Associated Press
