New York election results: Democrats win some key House races, others still pending

Democrats won back at least one key New York congressional seat from Republicans and retained another on Tuesday, giving the party a slight boost in its bid to regain control of the House.

According to the Associated Press, state Sen. John Mannion won a seat in Syracuse currently held by first-term Republican Rep. Brandon Williams, while Democratic Rep. Pat Ryan retained his Hudson Valley seat. The decisive victories could help House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat from Brooklyn, become the first Black man to serve as House speaker — if his party wins at least 218 seats statewide, which may not be for days or even weeks is completely clarified.

Republican Rep. Mike Lawler had a 12-point lead over former Rep. Mondaire Jones in his Hudson Valley district shortly after midnight, with an estimated 75% of votes counted. Several other key congressional contests, including key races on Long Island and the Catskills that brought in tens of millions of dollars in outside spending, had not yet been called by the end of the night Tuesday.

However, Democrats' hold on the US Senate appeared to be in jeopardy nationwide, leaving Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer – New York's senior senator – at risk of falling back into the minority in the upper house.

As of Wednesday, 1:15 a.m.:

• Democrat Laura Gillen, Hempstead's former boss, had a 6,000-vote lead in the race over Republican Rep. Anthony D'Esposito 4th district in Nassau County. According to the AP, an estimated 98% of votes had been counted.
• Attorney Josh Riley defeated Republican Rep. Marc Molinaro in the dispute, the AP reported 19th district, which stretches from the Hudson Valley to the Finger Lakes.
• Rep. Tom Suozzi, a Democrat from Nassau County, defeated Republican Michael LiPetri, the AP reported 3rd districtwhich also includes part of Queens. Suozzi and Gillen declared victory late on Tuesday, but their opponents had yet to concede a goal.

Kamala Harris and Kirsten Gillibrand win New York

There was far less tension in New York at the start of the event.

Shortly after polls closed at 9 p.m., the Associated Press reported that Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris had won the state's 28 electoral votes over Republican Donald Trump. But their margin fell well short of President Joe Biden's victory over Trump in New York in 2020, which was more than 20 points.

With an estimated 85% of votes counted as of 11:45 p.m., Harris had 56% of the vote in the Empire State – giving her a 12-point victory over Trump. In New York City, Harris received about 68% of the vote. She performed worse in key swing states like Georgia and North Carolina, which left Trump on the verge of winning the presidential election late Tuesday night.

In the Senate, Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, New York's junior senator, easily won re-election over Republican Mike Sapraicone, a former NYPD detective, receiving about 59% of the vote with 83% of ballots counted, according to the AP.

Gillibrand was first appointed to the position in 2009, succeeding former Senator Hillary Clinton when she was named secretary of state. Since then she has been elected four times.

“I will continue to solve problems for our country,” she said in her victory speech. “We will continue to work on the economy. We will make healthcare more affordable and help families get the child and elder care they desperately need. And I will continue to fight for tax cuts for our middle class families.”

But Republican Senate candidates overtook West Virginia and were in the lead in Ohio on Tuesday night, putting the party in position to potentially regain control of the Democratic-led chamber. That would be a major blow to Schumer, who has been majority leader since 2021.

Proposal 1 is adopted; Ballot measures in New York are mixed

The AP also reported that New York voters approved Proposition 1, which effectively enshrines abortion rights in the state constitution by adding a range of protections against discrimination, including in reproductive health decisions.

The successful ballot proposal will amend the state constitution to prohibit discrimination based on ethnicity, national origin, age, disability or gender – including protections for sexual orientation, gender identity and reproductive autonomy. Proponents saw this as a way to protect abortion rights in New York. The Constitution already contains protections against discrimination based on race, color, creed and religion.

Republicans pushed back against the measure, claiming, among other things, that it would violate parental rights and allow transgender athletes to participate in women's sports, the New York State Bar Association claims. But their campaign against the measure ultimately failed.

With an estimated 69% of votes counted, about 63% of voters voted for the measure, according to the AP.

In New York City, voters were asked to decide on five proposals to change the city charter that have been the subject of a dispute between Mayor Eric Adams and members of the City Council. As of 10:30 p.m., four of the city's five proposals were on their way to passage; The only one that was doomed to fail was the proposal to enshrine the position of chief business diversity officer — a position created by Adams — in the city charter.

Incumbent congressmen win big in New York

New York City's congressional elections were largely uncompetitive.

According to the AP, Democratic Reps. Jeffries, Gregory Meeks, Grace Meng, Nydia Velazquez, Yvette Clarke, Dan Goldman, Jerry Nadler, Adriano Espaillat, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ritchie Torres all won re-election as of 9:45 p.m. Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis of Staten Island also won.

According to the New York City Board of Elections, nearly 95% of scanners reported that about 2.6 million people voted in the five boroughs. This includes people who voted early and most mail-in ballots.

In 2020, city voters cast a total of 3 million ballots.

Brigid Bergin contributed reporting.

Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the district where attorney Josh Riley won.