United States House Elections Primer: New York (Districts 19-27)

103
423

As we prepare for the 2020 elections, Yesh Ginsburg and Steen Kirby will give a general overview of all 435 United States House of Representatives races. This is a basic overview to introduce you to the major candidates. All Partisan Lean numbers are taken from the Cook Partisan Voting Index. We will update this page as the races progress if anything noteworthy arises.

New York is too large a state to put all in one article. We will be splitting the Empire State’s 27 districts into three articles. One article contains the first nine districts, which have two of the six Republican districts in the state. All nine of the second group of districts have Democratic representatives, while four of this final group have Republicans.

New York’s 19th Congressional District

Incumbent: Antonio Delgado (Democratic, first term)

Partisan Lean: R+2

2018 Results:

Candidate Votes %
Antonio Delgado (D) 147,873 51.36
John Faso (R) 132,873 46.15
Steven Greenfield (G) 4,313 1.5

2016 Results:

Candidate Votes %
John Faso (R) 164,800 54.28
Zephyr Teachout (D) 138,800 45.72

Republican Candidate:

Kyle Van De Water (campaign website)

Van De Water is a somewhat moderate Republican, though he is campaigning on supporting President Trump. He is focusing on finding ways to help other areas absorb new workers who we sees as leaving New York City due to COVID-19. He also wants to simplify the tax code.

Democratic Candidate:

Antonio Delgado (campaign website)

Delgado is a somewhat liberal Democrat, campaigning on creating a public option for healthcare, and fighting climate change in ways geared more towards fiscal responsibility. He has an enormous funding and campaign advantage in this race, so he shouldn’t be too overly concerned about Van De Water.

New York’s 20th Congressional District

Incumbent: Paul Tonko (Democratic, sixth term)

Partisan Lean: D+7

2018 Results:

Candidate Votes %
Paul Tonko (D) 176,811 66.5
Joe Vitollo (R) 89,058 33.5

2016 Results:

Candidate Votes %
Paul Tonko (D) 213,021 67.89
Joe Vitollo (R) 100,738 32.11

Republican Candidate:

Elizabeth Joy (campaign website)

Joy is a fiscal conservative, campaigning to lower taxes and spending. She is also staunchly anti-abortion and is campaigning against the dangers of Socialism.

Democratic Candidate:

Paul Tonko (campaign website)

Tonko is a consistent Democratic voice in Congress, campaigning on his record and general liberal positions on healthcare, the environment, and other issues. Joy is spending a fair bit in this race, but it’s unlikely that Tonko has to do much to hold the seat.

New York’s 21st Congressional District

Incumbent: Elise Stefanik (Republican, third term)

Partisan Lean: R+4

2018 Results:

Candidate Votes %
Elise Stefanik (R) 131,981 56.11
Tedra Cobb (D) 99,791 42.43
Lynn Kahn (G) 3,437 1.46

2016 Results:

Candidate Votes %
Elise Stefanik (R) 177,886 65.28
Mike Derrick (D) 82,161 30.15
Matthew Funiciello (G) 12,452 4.57

Republican Candidate:

Elise Stefanik (campaign website)

Stefanik is considered by many a rising star in the Republican Party, and has a national following for her support of President Trump. She has generally standard Republican positions across the board, but campaigns more on her voice and profile than specific policy issues.

Democratic Candidate:

Tedra Cobb (campaign website)

Cobb cut Stefanik’s margin of victory by more than half two years ago, and she has serious funding to try it again. This district is moving away from Republicans, and Cobb wants to take advantage. She is a liberal Democrat, though a few of her positions are more moderate–which makes sense in a right-leaning district.

New York’s 22nd Congressional District

Incumbent: Anthony Brindisi (Democratic, first term)

Partisan Lean: R+6

2018 Results:

Candidate Votes %
Anthony Brindisi (D) 127,715 50.89
Claudia Tenney (R) 123,242 49.11

2016 Results:

Candidate Votes %
Claudia Tenney (R) 129,444 46.5
Kim Myers (D) 114,266 41.05
Martin Babinec (Reform) 34,638 12.44

Republican Candidate:

Claudia Tenney (campaign website)

Tenney is running to win back this seat, which she held for one term. She is campaigning on support for President Trump, pushing back against China, and general conservative solutions to healthcare, immigration, and other issues.

Yesh’s notes: It’s strange that Republicans seem to be capitulating a district that they held so recently, and which should support them. Tenney is woefully out-funded, and never did well enough in this district for Republicans to view her as the stronger candidate.

Democratic Candidate:

Anthony Brindisi (campaign website)

Brindisi is a somewhat moderate Democrat, campaigning against what he sees as Republican mistakes, as well as focusing on local issues in this rural right-leaning district. He has a serious spending and cash advantage in this race, which he is using to try to hold the seat.

New York’s 23rd Congressional District

Incumbent: Tom Reed (Republican, fifth term)

Partisan Lean: R+6

2018 Results:

Candidate Votes %
Tom Reed (R) 130,323 54.24
Tracy Mitrano (D) 109,932 45.76

2016 Results:

Candidate Votes %
Tom Reed (R) 161,050 57.59
John Plumb (D) 118,584 42.41

Republican Candidate:

Tom Reed (campaign website)

Reed is a somewhat conservative Republican, focusing on free market solutions to healthcare, strong support for the Second Amendment, and his bipartisan record.

Democratic Candidate:

Tracy Mitrano (campaign website)

Mitrano barely survived her primary, but she’ll get a second chance to try to flip this seat. She is a somewhat moderate liberal, campaigning on local issues like building infrastructure and upstate New York-related climate issues.

New York’s 24th Congressional District

Incumbent: John Katko (Republican, third term)

Partisan Lean: D+3

2018 Results:

Candidate Votes %
John Katko (R) 136,920 52.63
Dana Balter (D) 123,226 47.37

2016 Results:

Candidate Votes %
John Katko (R) 182,761 60.56
Colleen Deacon (D) 119,040 39.44

Republican Candidate:

John Katko (campaign website)

Katko is a conservative Republican, campaigning on lowering healthcare costs by removing medical taxes. He also wants to end Common Core, and is pushing back against multiple general liberal policies.

Democratic Candidate:

Dana Balter (campaign website)

Balter is back to try to flip this seat again, after coming so close in 2018. She has a mix of liberal and progressive policies, anywhere from a $15 minimum wage to a carbon tax. Balter is not as well-funded as you’d expect for a race that was this close in 2018, meaning that Democratic donors might view her last race as a high-water mark.

New York’s 25th Congressional District

Incumbent: Joseph Morelle (Democratic, first term)

Partisan Lean: D+8

2018 Results:

Candidate Votes %
Joseph Morelle (D) 159,244 58.98
Jim Maxwell (R) 110,736 41.02

2016 Results:

Candidate Votes %
Louise Slaughter (D) 182,950 56.19
Mark Assini (R) 142,650 43.81

Republican Candidate:

George Mitris (campaign website)

Mitris is a moderate Republican who firmly states that he supports the message of Black Lives Matter. He is underfunded and not campaigning much in this race, but it could have been interesting to see how well his bipartisan message would resonate.

Democratic Candidate:

Joseph Morelle (campaign website)

Morelle is a liberal Democrat, focusing on his record on issues like climate change, housing, and geneal equality.

New York’s 26th Congressional District

Incumbent: Brian Higgins (Democratic, eighth term)

Partisan Lean: D+11

2018 Results:

Candidate Votes %
Brian Higgins (D) 169,166 73.34
Renee Zeno (R) 61,488 26.66

2016 Results:

Candidate Votes %
Brian Higgins (D) 215,289 74.58
Shelly Schratz (R) 73,377 25.42

Republican Candidate:

Ricky Donovan, Sr.

Donovan does not seem to be actively campaigning. His campaign’s only presence is a Facebook with with less than 250 followers.

Democratic Candidate:

Brian Higgins (campaign website)

Higgins’ website doesn’t contain any actual information about his campaign, but he doesn’t need it. He is well-known and well-liked in this Buffalo-based district, and runs on his record and without serious competition.

New York’s 27th Congressional District

Incumbent: Chris Jacobs (Republican, won Special Election in July)

Partisan Lean: R+11

2018 Results:

Candidate Votes %
Chris Collins (R) 140,146 49.15
Nate McMurry (D) 139,059 48.76
Larry Piegza (Reform) 5,973 2.09

2016 Results:

Candidate Votes %
Chris Collins (R) 220,885 67.2
Diana Kastenbaum (D) 107,832 32.8

Republican Candidate:

Chris Jacobs (campaign website)

Collins almost lost this seat in 2018 after he was arrested for insider trading, but Jacobs carried it much more comfortably in the Special Election in July. Jacobs is a conservative Republican who is campaigning on supporting President Trump’s policies, especially on immigration and trade.

Democratic Candidate:

Nate McMurry (campaign website)

McMurry is a very liberal Democrat, campaigning on Medicare for All. Because of how close he came in 2018 he gets decent funding for this race, but it’s a curious choice in such a red district.

Overview

Democrats control five of these nine districts. Only one of those districts (the 22nd) looks competitive in November, while all four of the Republican districts are potential battlegrounds.

Interested in the rest of our primers for other House races? We have them all listed on our primer home page.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here