CONGRESS

ELECTIONS

INSIDE THE FIGHT FOR HOUSE CONTROL

The Top 10 races to watch in New York.

BY CITY & STATE

ALL EYES ARE on New York state when it comes to control of the House of Representatives, with as many as 10 competitive races out of the state’s 26 seats. And with Democrats holding a slim, eight-vote majority this session, every election could count.

But even the most attention-hungry New York Democrats might not be happy about the state’s turn in the spotlight (here’s looking at you, Sean Patrick Maloney). Congressional district maps passed into law by New York’s Democratic Legislature and governor were gerrymandered to help Democrats and hurt Republicans. Long story short, the maps got tossed by the courts, and the new district lines prioritized competitiveness – which was good news for conservatives. The opposition party usually sees major gains in the first midterm election of a president’s tenure.

That redistricting process, tied to the 2020 census, left the state with 26 seats, down from 27, and placed a lot of New Yorkers in substantially redrawn districts. City & State looked at every district in the state to preview the general election, and these are the Top 10 races to watch.

Bridget Fleming Nick LaLota Andrew Garbarino Jackie Gordon

1ST CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT

EASTERN PARTS OF SUFFOLK COUNTY

CURRENT MEMBER: Lee Zeldin (R), who is running for governor

2020 PRESIDENTIAL RESULTS:

Biden +0.2

DEMOGRAPHICS: 72% white, 16% Hispanic, 5% Asian, 4% Black

2020 GENERAL ELECTION

RESULTS: Zeldin (R, C, I): 55%, Goroff (D, WFP): 45%

2022 CANDIDATES: Bridget Fleming (D, WFP), Nick LaLota (R, C)

WHAT’S HAPPENING: Suffolk County Legislature Chief of Staff Nick LaLota was the party establishment’s pick in the Republican primary. He got 47% in the three-way race so he’s got some ground to make up on a Democrat he must know well from his government job: Suffolk County Legislator Bridget Fleming, who was able to avoid a primary. But don’t be fooled by Biden’s narrow advantage here – this is a Republican-leaning district, with the county GOP fully expecting to hold on to the seat despite Rep. Lee Zeldin leaving office to run for governor. In fact, his coattails could carry LaLota, a Navy veteran who was a 2016 Republican National Convention delegate for Donald Trump, to victory. While the candidates are predictably far apart on abortion, policing has become a hot topic. LaLota’s side has criticized Fleming for saying racial injustice was widespread in government and law enforcement. Fleming’s side has attacked LaLota for pitching the idea of cutting police funding when he served on the Amityville village board. Fleming, a former Manhattan prosecutor, might have earned a surprising endorsement from the county’s police union because of her former role. Most prognosticators rate the seat as leaning Republican.

2ND CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT

SOUTHERN PARTS OF SUFFOLK AND NASSAU COUNTIES

CURRENT MEMBER: Andrew Garbarino (R)

2020 PRESIDENTIAL RESULTS:

Trump +1.6

DEMOGRAPHICS: 56% white, 28% Hispanic, 10% Black, 3% Asian

2020 GENERAL ELECTION

RESULTS: Garbarino (R, C, L, SAM): 53%, Jackie Gordon (D, WFP, I): 46%, Harry Burger (G): 1%

2022 CANDIDATES: Garbarino (R, C), Gordon (D, WFP)

WHAT’S HAPPENING: It’s a rare 2020 rematch. But the seat is no longer open – Rep. Andrew Garbarino has two years under his belt and a reputation as a moderate Republican. The incumbent has greatly outraised and outspent Jackie Gordon, an Army veteran and school guidance counselor, and the Democrat isn’t getting much if any outside help from super PACs, which have largely written off the race. Still, anything could happen if voters are moved by her appeals on abortion rights and gun control over Garbarino’s talk of inflation and crime. Most House raters consider this one as likely Republican, or at least leaning Republican.

George Santos Robert Zimmerman Anthony D’Esposito Laura Gillen

3RD CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT

NORTHERN PARTS OF NASSAU COUNTY AND QUEENS

CURRENT MEMBER: Tom Suozzi (D), who unsuccessfully challenged Gov. Kathy Hochul in the Democratic primary and is not running for reelection

2020 PRESIDENTIAL RESULTS:

Biden +8.2

DEMOGRAPHICS: 56% white, 23% Asian, 14% Hispanic, 3% Black

2020 GENERAL ELECTION

RESULTS: Suozzi (D, WFP, I): 56%, George Santos (R, C): 43%, Howard Rabin (L): 1%

2022 CANDIDATES: Santos (R, C), Robert Zimmerman (D, WFP)

WHAT’S HAPPENING: Public relations maven Robert Zimmerman pulled off a big win in the crowded Democratic primary as the party establishment’s choice, thanks in part to his decades of support for the Democratic National Committee. Investment banker George Santos is a MAGA loyalist who once said he paid for legal support for Jan. 6 rioters. He’s a hardliner on abortion, and those views may be enough to sink him in the wealthy, suburban district – even as he tries to focus his campaign on crime and inflation. But in a potential wave year for Republicans, Santos has a much better shot than he did in 2020, when he ran against then-incumbent Rep. Tom Suozzi. Zimmerman and Santos’ fundraising is almost even, though the Democrat has attracted some outside super PAC support, primarily from 1199SEIU. Both candidates are out gay, which may be the first time that’s happened in a race for the House.

4TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT

SOUTHERN PARTS OF NASSAU COUNTY

CURRENT MEMBER: Kathleen Rice (D), who is not running for reelection

2020 PRESIDENTIAL RESULTS:

Biden +14.6

DEMOGRAPHICS: 51% white, 22% Hispanic, 16% Black, 7% Asian

2020 GENERAL ELECTION

RESULTS: Rice (D): 56%, Douglas Tuman (R, C): 43%, Joseph Naham (G): 1%

2022 CANDIDATES: Anthony D’Esposito (R, C), Laura Gillen (D)

WHAT’S HAPPENING: Long Island’s House seats are turning over, and Rep. Kathleen Rice is retiring from Congress too. This should be a safe Democratic district – a Republican hasn’t won this South Shore seat since 1996 – but Republican Anthony D’Esposito has some party faithful feeling hopeful, especially following conservatives’ wins in recent races for county executive, district attorney and more. Democrat Laura Gillen was a casualty there, losing her reelection bid for Hempstead supervisor in 2019. Both candidates are about even in fundraising, and neither are getting outside support in the general – after a super PAC funded by the cryptocurrency industry spent $250,000 backing Gillen in her Democratic primary win.

12TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT CANDIDATE MIKE ITKIS ISN’T GOING TO BEAT JERRY NADLER, BUT HE GOT EVERYONE TALKING.

By Jeff Coltin

Itkis’ platform of sex positivity raised some eyebrows due to his explicit video.

IN A GRUNT for attention, third-party congressional candidate Mike Itkis has released a sex tape to highlight his sex positive campaign platform. The 53-year-old Army cyber operations officer is bound to lose to Rep. Jerry Nadler in Manhattan’s 12th Congressional District. But he posted the 13-minute video to a popular online porn site of him having sex with porn performer Nicole Sage as “a conversation piece,” he told City & State. “If I would just talk about it, it wouldn’t demonstrate my commitment to the issue. And the fact I actually did it was a huge learning experience, and it actually influenced items on my platform.” His issues include legalizing sex work and making sexual rights explicit – “do NOT rely on privacy or free speech rights,” his campaign site reads, where sex positivity is one of just three campaign issues, which are all thin on details. Itkis, whose bio identifies himself as – “Not married. No kids. Not celibate. Atheist.” – also seems to take aim at child support payments, writing that “men should not be required to support biological children without prior agreement.”

Itkis said the video “Bucket List Bonanza” in 2021 was his first time having sex on camera, and he insisted he’s not an exhibitionist. “I’m very much an introvert,” the “very liberal” registered Democrat said. “I’m kind of a nerd who doesn’t like to be the center of attention if I can avoid it. But I thought the issues I’m trying to address are so important. … I wanted to have my issues talked about in some way.”

Sex tapes may be becoming a political trend on the Upper West Side. In 2021, New York City Council candidate Zack Weiner leaked a BDSM sex tape in an apparent attempt to stir up drama for his mockumentary on the run. (Editor’s note: Coltin was interviewed for the film, which is expected to be released next year.)

The Nadler campaign declined to comment. Itkis’ Republican opponent understood it. “You gotta do what you gotta do,” Mike Zumbluskas told City & State. “The media ignores everybody that’s not a Democrat in the city.”

FROM THE MILITARY TO CONGRESS

A dozen veterans are running to represent New York in the House.

By Annie McDonough

NEARLY 200 VETERANS are running for Congress across the country this year, and a dozen of them are in New York. Six Democrats and six Republicans who served are running this year from Long Island to Buffalo, including in some of the state’s most competitive districts. In two races, both candidates are running on records of military service.

The U.S. military has a reputation for leaning conservative, and most of the candidates running as veterans across the country this year are Republican – including some on the far right. A record of service can help distinguish candidates to voters, and Democrats have found some success in running veterans who can appeal to swing voters. But posting a picture of a candidate in uniform on their campaign website won’t cut it. “You can’t just stand up there and say, ‘I’m a veteran, vote for me.’ That will appeal to a few people, but not as many as you need,” Grant Reeher, director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute at Syracuse University, told City & State in a recent interview about the race in the 22nd District, where two veterans are running. “You’ve got to be able to articulate a connection between what you’ve done as a veteran, and how that’s going to make you a better representative.”

Here are the veterans running for Congress in New York this year.

FRANCIS CONOLE

(22ND DISTRICT, DEMOCRAT)

MAX ROSE

Jackie Gordon, left, and Colin Schmitt, below, have each emphasized their military service.

NICK LALOTA

(1ST DISTRICT, REPUBLICAN)

Naval Academy graduate Nick LaLota was deployed to 20 countries as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy, according to his campaign website, but the Long Island Republican didn’t specify where.

Like his opponent in Central New York’s 22nd District, Democrat Francis Conole is also a Navy veteran. Conole was deployed to Iraq in 2010 and has more recently worked as an adviser on U.S. defense policy. He is currently in the Navy Reserves.

MAX DELLA PIA

(23RD DISTRICT, DEMOCRAT)

Democrat Max Della Pia, running a longshot race in a safely Republican district, is an Air Force veteran.

(11TH DISTRICT, DEMOCRAT)

Democrat Max Rose served just two years in Congress representing Staten Island and southern Brooklyn and is mounting a rematch with Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, who knocked him out of office in 2020. Rose has always leaned on his experience as a combat veteran in Afghanistan, where he earned a Purple Heart and Bronze Star. He more recently deployed with the National Guard in 2020 to assist in COVID-19 response.

PAT RYAN

JACKIE GORDON

(2ND DISTRICT, DEMOCRAT)

Democrat Jackie Gordon is taking her second shot at one of Long Island’s purple seats after losing to Rep. Andrew Garbarino in 2020. Gordon has led with her service in the Army Reserves on the campaign trail, having deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan as well as serving as an operations officer at Guantanamo Bay, according to her campaign website.

STEVEN HOLDEN

(24TH DISTRICT, DEMOCRAT)

Democrat Steven Holden, who is taking on Republican Rep. Claudia Tenney in a solidly red district, retired as a lieutenant colonel in the Army after multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.

(18TH DISTRICT, DEMOCRAT)

From West Point cadet to Army combat veteran, Democratic Rep. Pat Ryan’s military experience has been front and center in his campaign. But while Ryan’s service may have distinguished him from Republican Marc Molinaro in this summer’s special election for the 19th Congressional District, he can’t say the same about his current opponent in the 18th District.

STEVEN SAMS

(26TH DISTRICT, REPUBLICAN)

Army veteran Steven Sams, who says he’s running as a soldier and not a politician, faces tough odds to replace Democratic Rep. Brian Higgins in Western New York’s reliably blue 26th District.

COLIN SCHMITT

(18TH DISTRICT, REPUBLICAN)

Republican Assembly Member Colin Schmitt is locked in one of the most competitive races in the state against Ryan in this purple Hudson Valley district. Schmitt is currently a sergeant in the Army National Guard and was activated to work on COVID-19 relief in 2020.

BRANDON WILLIAMS

(22ND DISTRICT, REPUBLICAN)

One of the state’s other more competitive races also features two candidates with a military background, and while some experts said that military service can help a candidate stick out, it may prove to be a wash in this instance. Republican Brandon Williams served in the Navy, first volunteering as a nuclear submarine officer, according to his campaign website.

THOMAS ZMICH

(6TH DISTRICT, REPUBLICAN)

Another repeat candidate and veteran of the Army Reserves, Republican Thomas Zmich is again challenging Rep. Grace Meng in Queens after losing to Meng by a large margin in 2020.

MIKE ZUMBLUSKAS

(12TH DISTRICT, REPUBLICAN)

Republican Army veteran Michael Zumbluskas is mounting an extremely longshot challenge to Rep. Jerry Nadler in Manhattan’s 12th Congressional District.

Nicole Malliotakis Max Rose

11TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT

STATEN ISLAND, SOUTHWESTERN BROOKLYN

CURRENT MEMBER: Nicole Malliotakis (R)

2020 PRESIDENTIAL RESULTS:

Trump +7.6

DEMOGRAPHICS: 51% white, 21% Asian, 18% Hispanic, 7% Black

2020 GENERAL ELECTION

RESULTS: Malliotakis (R, C): 53%, Rose (D, I): 47%

2022 CANDIDATES: Malliotakis (R, C), Rose (D)

WHAT’S HAPPENING: It’s a 2020 rematch – under different circumstances. The prognosticators think it’s likely to stay Republican, after Nicole Malliotakis avoided redistricting doomsday in the first round of lines. In fact, Max Rose almost didn’t bother running. But you can’t entirely write off the feisty Democrat, who won the district in 2018, before it flipped back to the GOP two years later. Rose isn’t getting any support from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee or super PACs, but his fundraising has more or less kept up with Malliotakis’, and both had about $1.5 million on hand a month out from the election.

Sean Patrick Maloney Mike Lawler Pat Ryan Colin Schmitt

17TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT

ROCKLAND COUNTY, NORTHERN WESTCHESTER COUNTY, PUTNAM COUNTY AND PARTS OF DUTCHESS COUNTY

CURRENT MEMBER: Mondaire Jones (D), who ran in the 10th District

2020 PRESIDENTIAL RESULTS:

Biden +10.2

DEMOGRAPHICS: 64% white, 20% Hispanic, 7% Black, 5% Asian

2020 GENERAL ELECTION: Jones (D, WFP): 59%, Maureen McArdle-Schulman (R): 35%, Yehudis Gottesfeld (C): 3%, Joshua Eisen (ECL): 2%, Michael Parietti (SAM): 1%

2022 CANDIDATES: Sean Patrick Maloney (D, WFP), Mike Lawler (R, C)

WHAT’S HAPPENING: Coming out of a chaotic redistricting process, Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney’s decision to step into Rep. Mondaire Jones’ district led Jones to run in the crowded 10th Congressional District Democratic primary, which he ultimately lost. Although he received backlash from progressive Democrats, the controversial move by Maloney didn’t stop him from soundly defeating state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi. Now Maloney will face Republican Assembly Member Mike Lawler, who has focused much of his campaign on crime and inflation. Meanwhile, Maloney has prioritized gun safety and abortion rights. As of the end of September, Maloney had nearly $1 million in cash on hand, while Lawler had about $289,000.

18TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT

MID-HUDSON VALLEY

CURRENT MEMBER: Sean Patrick Maloney (D), who is running in the 17th District

2020 PRESIDENTIAL RESULTS:

Biden +8.4

DEMOGRAPHICS: 63% white, 18% Hispanic, 10% Black, 3% Asian

2020 GENERAL ELECTION

RESULTS: Maloney (D, WFP, I): 56%, Chele Chiavacci Farley (R, C): 43%, Scott Smith (L, SAM): 1%

2022 CANDIDATES: Pat Ryan (D, WFP), Colin Schmitt (R, C)

WHAT’S HAPPENING: Rep. Pat Ryan recently secured a win in the August special election race for the 19th Congressional District – a race that many regarded as a bellwether for the midterm elections. Now Ryan will face Republican Assembly Member Colin Schmitt for the seat currently held by Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, who decided to run in the 17th District. Ryan focused on abortion rights, following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, as a pillar of his special election campaign, and he’s running the same playbook in the general election. Meanwhile, Schmitt has focused on opposing critical race theory while attempting to flip the abortion rights issue against Ryan with an ad alleging that Ryan supports late-term abortions. Heading into the election, both candidates have an equal amount of cash on hand – about $550,000 for Ryan and $486,000 for Schmitt.

Josh Riley

19TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT

PARTS OF THE SOUTHERN TIER, CATSKILLS AND HUDSON VALLEY

CURRENT MEMBER: Pat Ryan, who won an August special election to succeed Antonio Delgado, is running in the 18th District

2020 PRESIDENTIAL RESULTS:

Biden +4.6

DEMOGRAPHICS: 80% white, 7% Hispanic, 4% Black, 4% Asian

2020 GENERAL ELECTION

RESULTS: Delgado (D, WFP, SAM): 55%, Kyle Van De Water (R): 43%, Victoria Alexander (L): 1%, Steven Greenfield (G): 1%

2022 CANDIDATES: Josh Riley (D, WFP), Marc Molinaro (R, C)

Marc Molinaro Francis Conole Brandon Williams

WHAT’S HAPPENING: After losing an August special election to Pat Ryan, Republican Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro finds himself locked in a tight battle for the 19th District against Democrat Josh Riley, a lawyer, former political staffer and first-time candidate. At first, Molinaro appeared to be the favorite to win the seat. He’s a moderate Republican popular in his county and has some statewide recognition after his 2018 run for governor. Even though he doesn’t technically live in the new district, which also no longer includes any part of Dutchess County, conventional wisdom gave Molinaro a leg up over a newcomer like Riley. But a lot has changed since Molinaro first announced he would challenge Antonio Delgado, who resigned to become the lieutenant governor, not least of which was Molinaro’s special election loss. Now, polling has Riley in the lead, with the gap increasing to a more comfortable margin in the past two months. Riley has raised nearly $1 million more than Molinaro and has more than $1.1 million in cash on hand, as of late September, compared to Molinaro’s $400,000.

22ND CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT

CENTRAL NEW YORK

CURRENT MEMBER: Claudia Tenney (R), who is running in the 24th District

2020 PRESIDENTIAL RESULTS:

Biden +7.6

DEMOGRAPHICS: 76% white, 9% Black, 6% Hispanic, 4% Asian

2020 GENERAL ELECTION

RESULTS: Tenney (R): 48.95%, Anthony Brindisi (D, WFP, I): 48.92%, Keith Price Jr. (L): 2%

2022 CANDIDATES: Francis Conole (D), Brandon Williams (R, C)

WHAT’S HAPPENING: The 22nd Congressional District is among the most competitive races in the state – rated as a toss-up by Cook Political Report and Politico, while FiveThirtyEight has the Central New York seat leaning Republican. Democratic Iraq War veteran and defense policy adviser Francis Conole and Republican U.S. Navy veteran and tech entrepreneur Brandon Williams are both relatively fresh faces in New York politics. Conole ran in the 24th Congressional District in 2020 but lost by a large margin in the Democratic primary, and Williams only moved to Central New York in 2010. Parts of this new district have repeatedly elected moderate Republican Rep. John Katko over the past decade. Conole is trying to paint Williams as a MAGA Republican, but it’s unclear whether that strategy will stick with voters in this purple district. A Spectrum News/ Siena College poll conducted in late September had Williams with a 45% to 40% lead. Although Conole has outraised Williams and had $527,000 on hand to Williams’ $275,000 as of the end of September, both candidates have benefited from more than $3 million in combined spending by outside groups.

22ND CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT TOO CLOSE TO CALL

The 22nd District is one of the country’s most competitive races.

By Annie McDonough

Democrat Francis Conole

NEW YORK’S NEWLY drawn 22nd Congressional District hosts one of the most competitive races in the upcoming midterm elections – one of several in the state that could determine whether Democrats or Republicans hold power in the House next year.

But in this Central New York hot seat, which includes areas previously represented by moderate Republican Rep. John Katko (in the 24th District) and the farther right Republican Rep. Claudia Tenney (in the 22nd District), both candidates running this year are somehow still flying under the radar.

A Spectrum News/Siena College poll conducted in late September – one of the only independent polls in the race so far – found that 55% of respondents had no opinion of Democrat Francis Conole, and 62% had no opinion of Republican Brandon Williams. (That poll had Williams with a 45% to 40% lead over Conole, albeit with a margin of error of 5.1 percentage points.)

The lack of widespread name recognition for both candidates a little over a month ahead of the Nov. 8 election shown in that one poll was not entirely surprising. Conole, a defense policy adviser born and raised in Onondaga County, served on the county committee but has never held major elected office. Conole was bested by progressive Dana Balter in a 2020 primary run in the 24th Congressional District, and in this year’s Democratic primary for the new 22nd District, Conole clinched victory with fewer than 1,000 votes over Sarah Klee Hood.

Williams is even more of a newcomer. The tech entrepreneur and Texas native pulled off an upset victory in the Republican primary over party-backed Steve Wells with less money in his campaign chest than Wells, and significantly less than Conole had raised at that point. Williams is a firsttime candidate who moved to Central New York in 2010, according to his campaign website. Both Williams and Conole have a military background – Williams is a Navy veteran and Conole is still a commander in the Navy Reserves – and while military experience can help distinguish candidates, some experts said it might prove to be a wash in this case.

While name recognition is important in any election, Grant Reeher, director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute at Syracuse University, predicted that a lack of name recognition with Williams and Conole wouldn’t have a major effect on turnout in the general election, which is typically strong in the area. And there are advantages to being a newcomer, perhaps in particular for Williams. “There is some benefit being a political outsider, and I think the Williams campaign has certainly sought to accentuate that,” said Luke Perry, a political science professor at Utica University. “It makes sense, given the Democrats control the federal government and the state government, so they’re trying to appeal to people who think the system isn’t working, and you need somebody from the outside to get in there and shake things up.”

Still, the candidates’ short political careers only contribute to the race being a difficult one to predict. Following the redistricting of congressional seats earlier this year, registered Democratic voters now outnumber Republican voters in the new 22nd District, though not by a large margin. The district now spans Madison County, Oneida County and Onondaga County – and its largely blue city of Syracuse, which was previously in the 24th District. Despite its recent history of electing Republicans to Congress, the district favored President Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election by roughly 7 percentage points, according to the CUNY Center for Urban Research’s Redistricting & You website. Independent polling in the district, where more than three-quarters of the population is white, has been minimal. The obvious playbook for the out-ofpower party in a midterm election – Republicans running on President Joe Biden’s relatively low approval rating and casting the Democratic-led government as failing – has been complicated somewhat by landmark decisions by the conservative-led U.S. Supreme Court that have energized Democrats, including in the Hudson Valley’s tight special election in August. “In a midterm election, where the Democrats have the White House, both houses of Congress, the governor’s mansion and both houses of state Legislature, his job should be easy,” Democratic strategist Evan Stavisky said of Williams. “It’s

made more difficult by the fact that the Republicans on the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, the Republicans on the Supreme Court struck down New York’s gun laws and the leader of his party tried to launch a violent insurrection to overthrow the government.”

Conole is leaning hard into characterizing Williams as a supporter of former President Donald Trump and a “MAGA Republican.” That characterization draws a contrast to Katko, a moderate Republican who voted for Trump’s second impeachment, who has represented Onondaga County since 2015 and who, incidentally, is not endorsing either candidate in the general election. “He’s spent more time attacking Republicans in his own party,” Conole told City & State of Williams. “He is somebody who openly and proudly supports Donald Trump and comes from this MAGA wing of the Republican Party.” Williams’ campaign did not respond to multiple requests for an interview or comment.

Though Williams has in fact been a vocal supporter of Trump and is on record as criticizing Katko as not being conservative enough, he has backed away from some of the more extreme views of that wing of the party. Williams has emphasized that he accepts Biden as the “duly elected president” – a position a majority of Republican candidates across the country disagreed with. He has also updated some of the language on his campaign website since the primary election to highlight exceptions to his hardline position against abortion in instances where incest or rape is involved, or the mother’s life is at risk. Williams has said he would vote against a federal bill that would ban abortions after 15 weeks if he were elected to Congress.

“When you watch his ads, and you listen to him speak, he really does not lead with more of the Tea Party message or a Trump loyalist message,” Reeher said. “He sounds very much more like a mainstream Republican, even though if you try to pin him down on some of his policy positions, he’s quite conservative.”

Conole targeted his first television ad on Williams’ opposition to abortion access – a strategy that paid off for newly elected Democratic Rep. Pat Ryan in the special election in the 19th Congressional District in August. “We’re hearing both economic challenges, but also very real concerns about some of the foundational freedoms at risk,” Conole said, mentioning reproductive rights in particular, when asked what he thinks voters in his district care most about.

Joseph Morelle La’Ron Singletary

25TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT

ROCHESTER AND SUBURBS, INCLUDING PARTS OF ORLEANS COUNTY

CURRENT MEMBER: Joseph Morelle (D)

2020 PRESIDENTIAL RESULTS:

Biden +20.2

DEMOGRAPHICS: 67% white, 15% Black, 10% Hispanic, 4% Asian

2020 GENERAL ELECTION

RESULTS: Morelle (D, WFP, I): 59%, George Mitris (R, C): 39%, Kevin Wilson (L): 2%

2022 CANDIDATES: Morelle (D, WFP), La’Ron Singletary (R, C)

WHAT’S HAPPENING: Few expect Rep. Joseph Morelle to lose his solid blue seat, but a challenge from La’Ron Singletary has garnered some attention. The former Rochester Police Department chief came under scrutiny following the 2020 police killing of Daniel Prude, which sparked protests across the city. After evidence emerged of an alleged cover-up of the circumstances surrounding Prude’s death, Singletary announced his resignation, although then-Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren fired him before his resignation took effect. After that, he decided to launch a long-shot bid to unseat Morelle, who has held the seat since 2018 and wields significant power in Monroe County. Morelle has raised nearly $1.8 million and had less than $700,000 on hand as of late September, while Singletary has raised $541,000 and has less than $100,000 on hand.