Republican nominee John Faso, a lawyer and former New York assemblyman, defeated progressive champion Zephyr Teachout on Tuesday to keep a Hudson Valley seat in GOP hands.
The Associated Press called it for Mr. Faso, who touted his experience in and out of government and decades of family life in quaint Kinderhook to draw a contrast with Ms. Teachout, a Vermont native and veteran of Howard Dean’s 2004 presidential campaign who’d only recently moved into the district.
Yet Ms. Teachout had name recognition from a 2014 Democratic primary bid against Gov. Andrew Cuomo and an endorsement from Sen. Bernard Sanders, the hard-charging progressive who started a political “revolution,” making the race a tight one.
“Congratulations to Zephyr Teachout on a hard fought race that was closely watched not only by those living in the 19th Congressional District, but by people all over the nation,” Mr. Faso said. “What we’ve heard today is that citizens are deeply concerned about our country; that they care about its future; and they want a government that works for them and gets things done.”
Rep. Chris Gibson, a Republican, is retiring from the seat in New York’s 19th congressional district, so Democrats saw a chance to use the grassroots unrest embodied by Ms. Teachout to cut into the GOP’s sizable House majority, yet the “insider” won out.
The drama unfolded north of New York City, in a sprawling district that’s mostly south of Albany and reaches from the Hudson River valley to the Catskill Mountains.
Voter registration in the district is evenly split into thirds among Democrats, Republicans and unaffiliated or third-party voters.
The district also runs the gamut, socially — from blue-collar workers to eco-friendly liberals and city folks who migrated up the Hudson — and wraps in urban, suburban and rural communities.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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