The 2024 New York's 26th congressional district special election was held on April 30, 2024, to fill the vacant seat in New York's 26th congressional district.[1] The seat became vacant after Democratic incumbent Brian Higgins resigned on February 2, 2024, to become president of Shea's Performing Arts Center.[2][3] The early voting period ran from April 20 to April 28, 2024.[4]
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New York's 26th congressional district | ||||||||||||||||||||
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The Associated Press declared Tim Kennedy the winner within an hour of the polls closing.[5] He will serve in the United States House of Representatives for the remainder of the 118th United States Congress.
Nominees
editNew York does not use primary elections when filling vacancies. Instead, party officials in the affected counties are responsible for choosing nominees.
Democratic Party
editThe Erie County Democratic Committee chose their nominee on February 21, 2024.[6]
Candidates
editNominated
edit- Tim Kennedy, state senator from the 63rd district (2011–present)[7]
Lost nomination
edit- Nate McMurray, former town supervisor[a] of Grand Island and nominee for the 27th district in 2018 and 2020 (ran as an independent)[6]
- Jeanne Vinal, Erie County legislator (2020–present)[7]
Declined
edit- Byron Brown, mayor of Buffalo (2006–present), former chair of the New York Democratic Party (2016–2019), and former state senator from the 60th district (2001–2005)[8]
- Mark Poloncarz, Erie County executive (2012–present)[9]
Republican Party
editThe Erie County Republican Committee chose their nominee on February 21, 2024.[10]
Candidates
editNominated
edit- Gary Dickson, town supervisor[a] of West Seneca (2019–present)[10]
Independents
editWithdrawn
editGeneral election
editEndorsements
editTim Kennedy (D)
- U.S. representatives
- Brian Higgins, former U.S. representative for this district (2005–2024)[12]
- Annie Kuster, U.S. representative for NH 2 (2013–present)[13]
- Statewide officials
- Letitia James, attorney general of New York (2019–present)[14]
- Individuals
- Marshall Wittmann, political commentator[15]
- Labor unions
- 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East[16]
- Civil Service Employees Association Local 1000[17]
- Communications Workers of America District 1[18]
- International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Local 3[19]
- New York State AFL-CIO[20]
- Transport Workers Union of America Local 100[21]
- United Auto Workers Region 9[22]
- Organizations
- AIPAC[15]
- Democratic Majority for Israel[23]
- Erie County Federation of Democratic Women[24]
- Human Rights Campaign[25]
- National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare[26]
- New York League of Conservation Voters[27]
- NewDem Action Fund[13]
- Sierra Club[28]
- Newspapers
- Political parties
Gary Dickson (R)
- Political parties
Debate
edit| No. | Date | Host | Moderators | Links | Democratic | Republican |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P Participant A Absent N Non-invitee I Invitee W Withdrawn | ||||||
| Tim Kennedy | Gary Dickson | |||||
| 1[31] | April 24, 2024 | WIVB-TV | Marlee Tuskes Dave Greber |
YouTube | P | P |
Results
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Tim Kennedy | 42,995 | 62.89% | +5.04 | |
| Working Families | Tim Kennedy | 3,532 | 5.17% | −0.92 | |
| Total | Tim Kennedy | 46,527 | 68.06% | +4.12 | |
| Republican | Gary Dickson | 16,641 | 24.34% | −4.41 | |
| Conservative | Gary Dickson | 5,044 | 7.38% | +0.13 | |
| Total | Gary Dickson | 21,685 | 31.72% | −4.28 | |
| Write-in | 149 | 0.22% | +0.16 | ||
| Total votes | 68,361 | 100.0% | |||
| Democratic hold | |||||
By county
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See also
editNotes
editReferences
edit- ^ McMullen, Justin (February 12, 2024). "Date set for NY-26 special election to fill Higgins' seat in Congress". WIVB-TV. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
- ^ "Congressman Brian Higgins Announces Plans to Leave Congress". higgins.house.gov. Buffalo, New York. November 12, 2023. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
- ^ Joly, Aidan (November 12, 2023). "Brian Higgins announces plans to resign from Congress, set to take top Shea's job". WIVB-TV. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
- ^ "Official Special Election Political Calendar" (PDF). New York State Board of Elections. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
- ^ Joly, Aidan (April 30, 2024). "AP: Tim Kennedy declared winner in NY-26 special election". WIVB-TV. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
- ^ a b Specht, Charlie (January 10, 2024). "Nate McMurray announces candidacy for Brian Higgins' 26th District seat in Congress". The Buffalo News. Retrieved January 10, 2024.
- ^ a b Faery, Max (January 11, 2024). "Tim Kennedy gets Democratic Committee's nomination for NY-26 special election". Audacy.
- ^ Parsnow, Luke; Whalen, Ryan (January 5, 2024). "Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown won't run for Higgins' congressional seat". Spectrum News 1 Buffalo.
- ^ Specht, Charlie (December 10, 2023). "Poloncarz will not run for 26th Congressional District seat being vacated by Higgins". The Buffalo News. Archived from the original on December 11, 2023. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
- ^ a b Specht, Charlie (February 21, 2024). "West Seneca Supervisor Gary Dickson gets GOP nod to face Kennedy for Congress". Buffalo News. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
- ^ a b Joly, Aidan; Greber, Dave (February 27, 2024). "Nate McMurray will not be on NY-26 special election ballot". WIVB-TV. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
- ^ McMullen, Justin (February 2, 2024). "On final curtain call in office, Higgins reflects on how Buffalo — and Congress — has changed". WIVB-TV. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
- ^ a b "NewDem Action Fund Announces Endorsement of Tim Kennedy for the Special Election in New York's 26th District". NewDem Action Fund. April 15, 2024. Retrieved April 18, 2024.
- ^ Specht, Charlie (March 15, 2024). "State AG James endorses Kennedy for Congress". Buffalo News. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
- ^ a b Specht, Charlie (March 10, 2024). "Views on Gaza differ among candidates in 26th Congressional race". The Buffalo News. Archived from the original on March 10, 2024.
Kennedy also snagged an endorsement from the influential American Israel Public Affairs Committee
- ^ "2024 New York Endorsements". 1199SEIU. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
- ^ "CSEA endorses State Sen. Tim Kennedy in Congressional special election". CSEA Local 1000. April 1, 2024. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
- ^ Needle, Logan (February 27, 2024). "CWA District 1 Announces Endorsement in NY-26 Special Election". CWA District 1. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
- ^ "The BAC 3 NY is proud to endorse NYS Senator Tim Kennedy for the special election to fill the 26th Congressional District seat left vacant by Congressman Brian Higgins". Facebook. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
- ^ "New York State AFL-CIO Endorses Tim Kennedy for Congress". New York State AFL-CIO. March 18, 2024. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
- ^ TWU Local 100 [@TWULocal100] (January 11, 2024). "State Sen. Tim Kennedy, Chair of the Transportation Committee is a friend of working people and we enthusiastically endorse @senkennedy for Congress in N.Y.-26" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ @UAWregion9 (December 4, 2023). "Today @UAW Region 9 WNY CAP Council was proud to endorse NYS State Senator Timothy M. Kennedy!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "DMFI PAC Endorses in New York and Missouri Congressional Primaries". DMFI PAC. April 3, 2024. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
The candidates endorsed by DMFI PAC today include...State Sen. Tim Kennedy (NY-26)...
- ^ "The NY-26 is up for grabs and now more than ever, we need leaders in Washington, DC who will stand up and fight for women". Facebook. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
- ^ Wolf, Brandon (March 22, 2024). "Human Rights Campaign PAC Endorses Tim Kennedy for NY-26". Human Rights Campaign (Press release). Retrieved March 22, 2024.
- ^ Gottlieb, Walter (April 26, 2024). "Western New Yorkers Need Tim Kennedy In the U.S. House". NCPSSM (Press release). Retrieved April 29, 2024.
- ^ Callahan, Devin (March 6, 2024). "NYLCV Endorses Tim Kennedy for Congress in the NY-26 Special Election". New York League of Conservation Voters. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
- ^ "Sierra Club endorses Kennedy in congressional race". Niagara Gazette. April 4, 2024. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
- ^ March, Libby (April 21, 2024). "The Editorial Board: For Congress: Tim Kennedy". The Buffalo News. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
- ^ a b c d Kruly, Kenn (February 27, 2024). "The NY26 campaign takes shape". Buffalo Rising. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
- ^ Joly, Aidan (April 23, 2024). "Full replay: Kennedy, Dickson face off in NY-26 Debate". WIVB.com.
- ^ "New York State Unofficial Election Night Results". New York State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on May 16, 2024. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
External links
edit- Official campaign websites