In Tuesday’s New York special election, Democratic state Sen. Tim Kennedy of Buffalo defeated Republican West Seneca Supervisor Gary Dixon to replace longtime former Rep. Brian Higgins (D-N.Y.).
At 9:17 p.m., when the Associated Press predicted Mr. Kennedy would have an advantage over Mr. Dixon, Mr. Kennedy led Mr. Dixon by a wide margin, 78.4% to 21.6%.
“We did it. We did it as a community,” Kennedy wrote to X. And that will continue to be the case. ”
“I’m honored. I’m humbled. I’m ready to go to Washington and get to work,” he added.
The 47-year-old state senator will serve out the remainder of Higgins’ term in the House, which expires at the end of the year.
Mr. Higgins, 64, resigned as 26th District Councilman in early February to become president of Shay’s Performing Arts Center in Buffalo.
The former 10-term congressman also expressed his dissatisfaction with Congress when he announced his decision to resign.
“Congress is not the institution I attended 19 years ago. It’s a very different place today.” he said in november.
“We’re spending more time doing less. And the American people are underserved.”
Kennedy’s victory narrows the Republican conference’s already slim majority in the House to 217-213, meaning Republicans would only lose one vote on any bill if Democrats vote along party lines. .
Federal Election Commission says Kennedy outsold former FBI agent Dixon by more than $1 million record show.
According to the Associated Press, Dixon said his politics are “to the centrist” of former President Donald Trump and that he supports Trump as the Republican presidential candidate.
Mr. Kennedy is also running for a term in New York’s 26th District, which includes Erie and Niagara counties, including the cities of Buffalo and Niagara Falls.
The district is considered a safe seat for Democrats. In the 26th Congressional District, registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by more than 2 to 1.
Kennedy will face attorney and former Grand Island Town Supervisor Nate McMurray in the June 25 Democratic primary.
Mr. McMurray is currently facing a lawsuit seeking to remove Mr. Kennedy from the primary ballot over the more than 1,000 invalid signatures collected on Mr. McMurray’s election petition.
Mr. McMurray denied the allegations in the lawsuit.
