Democrat Pat Ryan beats Republican Marc Molinaro in special House race in bellwether New York district


Democrat Pat Ryan, a combat veteran and Ulster County executive, narrowly defeated Republican Marc Molinaro in a special election in New York's 19th Congressional District, The Associated Press and other news organizations projected late Tuesday. The seat was vacated when former Rep. Antonio Delgado (D) became New York's lieutenant governor, and Ryan will serve the final four months of Delgado's term while campaigning for a full term in the newly redrawn 18th District.
President Biden won the district by about 1.5 percentage points, but polls had shown Molinaro winning, especially before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June. Ryan then made access to abortion a central focus of his campaign, turning the swing district into "a potential test of the impact that the recent Supreme Court decision on abortion might have on the midterm elections," The New York Times reports. Molinaro, who is running in the newly redrawn 19th District in November, campaigned on the economy, crime, and baby formula shortages.
Cook Political Report's Dave Wasserman called Ryan's win "a huge victory" for Democrats in a "bellwether" district Biden narrowly won, but he cautioned that Republicans are "still clear favorites" to win the House in November, thanks largely to the Democrats' "devastating string of legal defeats toward the end of redistricting" in New York, Florida, Ohio, and other states.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
New York Times analyst Nate Cohn said he wasn't surprised by Ryan's victory, "but the reason it's not a massive upset is because the signs of Democratic strength just aren't rare anymore," he tweeted. "Democrats have overtaken Republicans on the generic ballot. They've been outperforming in several straight congressional races."
The Republicans won the second New York special election on Tuesday, with local GOP leader Joe Sempolinski beating Democrat Max Della Pia in the conservative 23rd Congressional District. But the margin was narrower than expected. Sempolinski, a former aide to former Rep. Tom Reed (R) — who vacated the seat earlier this year to take a lobbying job — will not run for a full term in November. Della Pia is running in the newly drawn 23rd District. His opponent will be New York GOP chairman Nick Langworthy, who beat Carl Paladino in a contentious Republican primary Tuesday night.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Elon Musk departs Trump administration
speed read The former DOGE head says he is ending his government work to spend more time on his companies
-
Trump taps ex-personal lawyer for appeals court
speed read The president has nominated Emil Bove, his former criminal defense lawyer, to be a federal judge
-
US trade court nullifies Trump's biggest tariffs
speed read The US Court of International Trade says Trump exceeded his authority in imposing global tariffs
-
Trump pauses all new foreign student visas
speed read The State Department has stopped scheduling interviews with those seeking student visas in preparation for scrutiny of applicants' social media
-
Trump pardons Virginia sheriff convicted of bribery
speed read Former sheriff Scott Jenkins was sentenced to 10 years in prison on federal bribery and fraud charges
-
Germany lifts Kyiv missile limits as Trump, Putin spar
speed read Russia's biggest drone and missile attacks of the war prompted Trump to post that Putin 'has gone absolutely CRAZY!'
-
Tied Supreme Court blocks church charter school
speed read The court upheld the Oklahoma Supreme Court's decision to bar overtly religious public charter schools
-
GOP megabill would limit judicial oversight of Trump
speed read The domestic policy bill Republicans pushed through the House would protect the Trump administration from the consequences of violating court orders