N.Y. Republican wins final House race

ALBANY, N.Y. — A New York judge ruled Friday that Republican Claudia Tenney defeated U.S. Rep. Anthony Brindisi by 109 votes in the nation’s last undecided congressional race.

The ruling by Judge Scott DelConte could clear the way for Tenney to be sworn in as the representative for central New York’s 22nd Congressional District, barring emergency intervention by a state appeals court.

She previously was the district’s representative for one term until being defeated by Brindisi, a Democrat, in 2018.

DelConte’s ruling came after he spent three months reviewing ballot challenges and trying to fix a myriad of problems with vote tabulation. He rejected an argument by Brindisi’s lawyers that certification of the results be delayed until an appeals court had a chance to review the case.

DelConte’s order directed New York to certify the results immediately.

The judge said even if the results end up changing after any litigation, New York could simply amend its certification. He issued his ruling hours after a last public hearing, in which he told Brindisi’s lawyers that he was disinclined to delay the results any further.

Tenney has maintained a small lead even as months of litigation revealed problems with ballots that either weren’t counted properly or were improperly rejected. Tallies have shifted as county election officials counted a flood of absentee ballots and courts weighed in on which challenged ballots could be counted.