Democrat who campaigned on abortion rights wins in New York special election
A New York Democrat who campaigned on abortion rights and the future of US democracy has won a special congressional election in a swing district, a victory that Democrats hope could signal a fundamental shift in national voter sentiment ahead of the November midterm elections.
Democrat Pat Ryan defeated Republican Marc Molinaro 51.3% to 48.7%, with 99% of the vote counted, Edison Research said, after a hardfought contest for an open seat in New York’s 19th congressional District, which spans part of the Hudson Valley and Catskill Mountains region and is known as a bellwether.
The election took on outsized national importance and became a testing ground for both parties’ campaign strategies. Ryan made the US supreme court’s decision to overturn abortion rights a centrepiece of his campaign, mobilising Democrats outraged by the ruling. Molinaro focused on crime and soaring inflation that voters say is their most pressing concern.
The district voted for Barack Obama in 2012, Donald Trump in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020.
Ryan’s victory, coming after voters preserved abortion protections in Republican-dominated Kansas, will boost Democrats’ hopes that opposition to the Supreme Court ruling could help them to hold on to the House of Representatives and Senate in a tough election year.
Ryan will serve only until January, when the seat will disappear due to state redistricting. Both he and Molinaro are also running for different seats in the November midterms.
Voters also cast ballots in state primaries in New York, Florida, and Oklahoma to choose party nominees for the 8 November elections, which will determine the balance of power in Congress in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election.
US representative Charlie Crist emerged as the Democrat who will try to unseat sitting Republican governor Ron DeSantis in November.
Crist, 66, bested state Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, Edison Research projected. With 78% of the vote counted, Crist had 59.1% vs. 35.4% for Fried.
Crist, who served as a Republican Florida governor from 2007 to 2011 before switching parties, portrayed himself as a candidate ready to unify the state after DeSantis’ focus on culture war issues. He drew endorsements from Democratic leaders including US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
DeSantis is seen as a potential 2024 presidential candidate, and Democrats hope they can derail any White House bid by denying him reelection in Florida.
“When we defeat him on Nov. 8, that show is over,” Crist told cheering supporters.
DeSantis and Rubio, a former presidential hopeful, had no primary opponents.
Democrats have been widely seen as the underdog party up to now in the midterm elections for House and Senate, with their prospects weighed down by historical trends, inflation, and president Joe Biden’s low job approval numbers.
Republicans are favoured to take control of the House, putting them in a position to scupper Biden’s legislative agenda. But their chances of capturing the Senate have been cast into doubt by the weakness of Trump-endorsed candidates in the key swing states of Arizona, Georgia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
In recent weeks, Biden’s approval rating has recovered somewhat from its low of 36% to reach 41%, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling, as inflation has shown signs of easing and Democrats have celebrated a series of legislative wins in Congress.
The New York special election was the first competitive contest since the Supreme Court’s abortion ruling in June. But other special House elections in conservative districts in Nebraska and Minnesota saw Republicans prevail by much narrower margins than expected.