Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - While the primary race in New York State this Election Day 2022 was for the Governor's Office between incumbent Kathy Hochul (D) and Rep. Lee Zeldin (R), a number of other elections were of focus locally in Western New York on Tuesday.
Perhaps the most notable race in the 2022 Election for the region came with the battle for the 61st State Senate District between incumbent candidates Sean Ryan (D) and Ed Rath (R). It was the first time in several years that a pair of incumbent candidates were running against one another for a seat in the State Senate, but re-districting played a role into that race this November.
In the end, it was Sen. Ryan who ended up coming out on top of that race, winning more than 54% of the vote over Sen. Rath.
"It's a strange re-districting year, so two senators had to fight over one chair, and really happy that I emerged victorious," said Sen. Ryan following his victory on Tuesday. "I got a really nice phone call from Sen. Rath a little while ago, he fought hard through this whole race. He never stopped, I wish he had stopped a few times, but he kept coming. So kudos to him for running this race, and pleased that the community is sending me back [to Albany]."
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With this being a race for a State Senate seat between two incumbent candidates, Ryan knew that he would have to step up his campaign, knowing that the people knew what each candidate brought to the table for the region.
"You had to really go sell yourself, because the public knew both candidates very well. So you really had to work on your communication with the public, and a lot of times people at the door said, 'I'm still deciding,'" Sen. Ryan said. "But I'm really happy, as the weeks went on, the race started spreading, and really gratified that the people had the confidence in me to send me back to Albany."
A pair of other State Senate seats were up for grabs this election season in Western New York. Sen. Tim Kennedy (D) ended up winning re-election handily for the 63rd Senate District over Conservative candidate Faye Pietrak, while Sen. George Borrello (R) was also re-elected favorable for the 57th Senate District over Daniel Brown (D).
At the State Assembly level, a number of Democrats came out on top of those elections, including Bill Conrad III (140th Assembly District), Pat Burke (142nd Assembly District), Monica Wallace (143rd Assembly District), Karen McMahon (146th District) and Jonathan Rivera (149th Assembly District).
At the Congressional level, a total of four districts were up for grabs to represent New York in the House of Representatives.
Back in August, Nick Langworthy was able to pull off a win in the Primary Election over contender Carl Paladino to earn the Republican nomination for NY-23 Congressional District against Democratic candidate Max Della Pia. Tuesday night saw Langworthy earn the victory over Della Pia by a 67%-33% margin, as he declared victory shortly after the polls closed at 9 p.m. EST.
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"I knew it was time to put up or shut up, get involved and get in the arena in my own name. I didn't want to be sitting around the table with those kids trying to teach them about the importance of civic duty without doing my own part. I didn't want to teach them about how precious America's values are without showing them that I was willing to help fight to protect those values themselves," said Langworthy during his victory speech at The Avant in Downtown Buffalo. "Our children are watching us with every move we make. They're learning their values, and what they'll bring to this country from us. Being a husband and a dad will always be the most important titles that I carry in this world, but I take the title of the United States Representative for the 23rd District very, very seriously."
Langworthy declared victory and then quickly proceeded to New York City to join Zeldin during his campaign for the New York Governor's Office.
Another notable seat in Congress up for vote this year was for the NY-26 Congressional District that Brian Higgins (D) has held in Washington, D.C. since 2005. Once again, Higgins will retain his seat in the House of Representatives with his re-election over Republican counterpart Steven Sams II.
"These races are tight, as they have been for some time, but this is a great night, a great victory. And we're looking forward to doing great things for Buffalo and Western New York moving forward," said Higgins on Tuesday night at the Democratic headquarters at the Buffalo Irish Center.
Also earning victories for a seat in Congress representing New York includes Claudia Tenney (R) earning a win over Steven Holden (D) for the NY-24 Congressional District, as well as Joseph Morelle (D) earning re-election for the NY-25 Congressional District over opponent La'Ron Singletary (R).
Meanwhile for Erie County, the most notable election taking place was the race for Erie County Clerk between incumbent Mickey Kearns (R) and challenger Melissa Hartman (D), who also happens to serve as the Town Supervisor of Eden. That race ended up going to Kearns, who wins re-election for another term in office as County Clerk.
"I didn't want to run a negative campaign. I wanted to run a campaign that talked about the job we did over the past five years, the services that we improved, the people that we helped, the surpluses that we created," said Kearns during his victory speech. "We have done positive things for Erie County, and this is not the office to talk about those national issues, but people did talk about them, and people may have voted for them. So what I say is, tomorrow is a new day, we'll start again a new, we'll have a new office, and we'll continue to improve the services."
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