Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - "It was always part of my strategy to build tremendous support in the Southern Tier. With Erie County results coming in first, it made election night reporting all the more dramatic." NY-23 Republican nominee Nick Langworthy discussing his primary win on WBEN Wednesday.
It was a wild finish, with challenger Carl Paladino holding a solid lead early in the vote count. But as more Southern Tier results came in, the tide turned toward Langworthy.
"We communicated and campaigned very tirelessly throughout those six counties in the Southern Tier and it paid off," said Langworthy.
Paladino won Erie County, but Langworthy won all six other counties that make up the new 23rd district.
"It was a stunning finish to a very chaotic election process," said Republican strategist and WBEN contributor Carl Calabrese. "What Nick Langworthy pulled off is really spectacular, in my opinion."
Calabrese said all of the conventional wisdom had Langworthy doing well in Erie County and Paladino dominating the six rural counties. The result, however, was just the opposite.
"Carl came out of Erie County with a 62-hundred vote lead. No one thought Nick could make that up in the rural counties. But Nick not only ran the table, but ran them at a 2 to 1 margin. It's a testament to Langworthy's organizational skills. He was in total command of the 'get out the vote' effort on election night," added Calabrese.
Langworthy called it a strong "Buffalo bias" that is responsible for so many pundits saying that Paladino was well-positioned to win the primary. "I didn't quite understand how much of an underdog the pundits thought I was," he said. Adding, that his team was very confident in their strategy.
Voter turnout was not as anemic as predicted. "We turned out a lot more voters than we did in June in the newly carved 23rd district. In the June primary, 37-thousand people voted. We were above 46-thousand on Tuesday," said Langworthy.
The vote count is not expected to change significantly. Election laws have changed. Absentee ballots are now counted at the front of the election, not the end. So, the only absentees that remain are those that haven't arrived yet at the Board of Elections. Most have already been counted. Any absentee ballots had to be postmarked by Tuesday, August 23rd.
Langworthy said he wants to "end the revolving door of embarrassment that we've had in congressional districts in Western New York." He said he intends to be a serious congressman for the district.
The campaign between Langworthy and Paladino, who were friends and allies for a long time, will be remembered for its tone and how it divided Republicans in the district.
How does Langworthy plan to bridge that divide this fall? "We're going to go out there and talk about the issues that are important to all of the voters in the district. This is the most Republican district in the state of New York. I am running to present voters with a stable, consistent, dependable, Conservative, Republican member of congress that they can get behind and support." Langworthy noting that he and Paladino shared many of the same positions on policy issues. Adding, "we just had different styles."
Langworthy will face Democrat Max Della Pia in the general election November 8. "I welcome debates," said Langworthy. "That's the one thing that was sorely lacking in the primary." There were no debates after Paladino rebuffed. "Voters deserve to have a conversation on the issues between my opponent and I."