New York Democrat Pat Ryan keeps upstate seat in Special Election

Republicans failed in their bid to flip a swing district seat in New York’s 19th Congressional District in a special election considered to be a bellwether race ahead of the midterm elections.

Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan was a Democrat. He defeated Marcus Molinaro (a Republican) in the race for the remainder of Antonio Delgado’s term. Kathy Hochul will serve as lieutenant governor of the state.

With 87% precincts reporting on Tuesday, Mr. Ryan received 53% and Mr. Molinaro received 47% votes.

The district which encompasses Columbia, Columbia, and Dutchess counties as well as areas in the Catskills has seen its support split between Republicans and Democrats for the last ten years.

Voters chose Republicans to take the House seat from 2010 to 2018,, when it was flipped to Mr. Delgado.

In presidential elections, the district has turned back to vote for the national winner in four of the previous elections — Barack Obama twice and Donald Trump. Biden.

Analysts closely watched the race as an indicator of a November red wave for House Republicans. They are likely to take the majority in November.

The National Republican Congressional Committee’s campaign arm broadcast in the district ads accusing Ryan of backing a “woke agenda that helps criminals and hurts cops.” While Democrat-sponsored ads warn voters that Mr. Molinaro threatens abortion rights, ads sponsored by Democrats warned that Ryan is a danger to that.

Mr. Molinaro started his political career as 19 mayor of Tivoli in New York before he was elected to the state legislature. He was nominated by the GOP to be governor of 2018, but lost to Andrew Cuomo. In 2019., Mr. Molinaro won the GOP nomination for governor in 2018, but lost to Democrat Andrew Cuomo.

Mr. Ryan, 36 and an Iraq war veteran, ran for the 19th District seat in 2018 but lost to Mr. Delgado. The following year, he was elected to the Ulster County executive position.

The 19th District seat was left open in May when Mr. Delgado was chosen by Ms. Hochul to replace then-Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin was removed from office by federal prosecutors after he was charged with fraud, bribery and falsifying records while a senator for the state of Pennsylvania.

Mr. Ryan will finish the term of Mr. Delgado, which expires in January.

Both Ms. Ryan and Mr. Molinaros ran Tuesday in district primaries in bids for full terms in November. However, they were not running against one another.

Mr. Molinaro ran in the 19th District under a newly redrawn map that gives the GOP less of an advantage over Democrats, while Mr. Ryan ran in the redrawn 18th District.

Mr. Molinaro will face Josh Riley, the winner of the Democratic primary for the 19th District, in November, while Mr. Ryan will go up against Republican Assemblyman Colin Schmitt in the 18th District.