Democrat Tim Kennedy wins New York special election for House seat
Once he is sworn in to represent the state’s 26th Congressional District, the Republican majority in the chamber will temporarily fall to just one vote.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/04/30/new-york-special-election-house-kennedy/State Sen. Tim Kennedy (D) is projected to win the special election for New York’s 26th Congressional District, according to the Associated Press.
Kennedy defeated Republican Gary Dickson, a town supervisor, in the Upstate New York district that includes the cities of Buffalo and Niagara Falls and will serve out former Democratic congressman Brian Higgins’s term, which ends in January. Higgins, who was first elected to the House in 2004, resigned his seat in February to take a job leading a performing arts center in the Democratic-leaning district.
When Kennedy is sworn in as a member of the House Democratic conference, it will temporarily shave the chamber’s Republican majority to one seat, leaving a small margin for error for party-line agenda items. House Republicans hold 217 seats and Democrats, with Kennedy, will have 213 seats, leaving vacant five seats.
A liberal Democrat who ran with the support of the Working Families Party, Kennedy served as a state legislator since 2011 and dominated the congressional race against Dickson financially. He spent more than $1 million on the race — compared with Dickson, who spent around $21,000, according to the latest campaign disclosure reports. Kennedy also is running for the seat’s full term in 2024.
