Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Is Patrick Chludzinski's victory in the 143rd District a symptom of the presidential election, or is this a one time thing?
Erie County Republican Committee Chairman Michael Kracker says there's a couple factors at play when considering why people voted the way they did.
"I think part of it is the Democratic Party and their shift radically to the left is partly to blame. I believe in a community like Cheektowaga and Lancaster that have been historically left leaning, the party has left those folks. They're looking for an alternative to the woke socialism of today's Democratic Party. and they're finding candidates like Pat Chludzinski, a veteran, a law enforcement officer who shares the values of a blue collar community," stated Kracker in an interview with WBEN.
Kracker says the shift to red isn't specific to just WNY, and believes the the country is going through a political realignment.
"The Republican Party is becoming the party of working class Americans, and you're seeing this here locally, whether it's the Cheektowaga, the Lancaster area, places like Lackawanna, where Donald Trump came within a few points of winning a traditionally Deep Blue City. I think that's an exciting thing. I think the party should be embracing that common sense commitment and appealing to voters that I think the Democratic Party has clearly left and missed, as evidenced by their shortcomings nationally in the presidential campaign," stated Kracker.
Ken Kruly, from Politics and Other Stuff doesn't see this to be a trend, and says this will probably be a one-time scenario in WNY.
"They [GOP] sort of say that after every election, and it doesn't always work out that way. As far as a trend, I don't think so. It'll depend on many factors, including the capabilities of the candidates and and what the state of the party and how much money they have available to run. I don't see we have a real trend going. That's not identifiable yet. It's just that this election was a little bit different than the last one."