WASHINGTON — A New York Democrat who campaigned on abortion rights and the future of US democracy won a special congressional election in a swing district on Tuesday, 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 hard-fought 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 centerpiece of his campaign, mobilizing Democrats outraged by the ruling. Molinaro focused on crime and soaring inflation that voters say are their most pressing concerns.
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 Nov. 8 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.
Recent polling data shows DeSantis leading Crist by several percentage points. Running as a Democrat, Crist lost the 2014 governor’s race against Republican Rick Scott.
