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, a Democrat, defeated Republican opponent and Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro in the race to fill the rest of the term of Democrat Antonio Delgado, who was appointed by Gov. Kathy Hochul to serve as the state’s lieutenant governor.
With 87% of precincts reporting Tuesday, Mr. Ryan had 53% of the vote and Mr. Molinaro had 47% of the vote.
The district, which includes Dutchess, Ulster and Columbia counties and areas of the Catskills, has swung its support between Republicans and Democrats over the past decade.
Voters picked Republicans to fill the House seat in elections from 2010 until 2018, when Mr. Delgado flipped it to the Democrats.
In presidential elections, the district has flipped back and forth to go with the national winner in the last four elections — Barack Obama twice, Donald Trump and Joseph R. Biden.
Analysts watched the race closely as a potential indicator of a November “red wave” for House Republicans, who are poised to retake the majority from Democrats in November.
The National Republican Congressional Committee, the GOP campaign arm, broadcast ads in the district accusing Mr. Ryan of supporting a “woke agenda” that “helps criminals and hurts cops,” while Democrat-sponsored ads warned voters that Mr. Molinaro is a threat to abortion rights.
Mr. Molinaro, 46, started his political career at 19 as mayor of Tivoli, New York, before serving in the state legislature. He won the GOP nomination for governor in 2018 but lost to Democrat Andrew Cuomo. Mr. Molinaro was re-elected as Dutchess County executive in 2019.
Mr. Ryan, 36 and an Iraq war veteran, ran for the 19th District seat in 2018 but lost to Mr. Delgado. He was elected to the Ulster County executive post the following year.
The 19th District seat was left open in May when Mr. Delgado was chosen by Ms. Hochul to replace then-Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin, who was forced out of office after federal prosecutors charged him with bribery, fraud and falsifying records as a state senator.
Mr. Ryan will complete Mr. Delgado’s term, which ends in January.
Both Mr. Ryan and Mr. Molinaro ran in separate district primaries Tuesday in bids to win full terms in November, albeit not against each other.
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.
• Susan Ferrechio can be reached at sferrechio@washingtontimes.com.
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.
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