Democrat Crushes GOP Rival in New York Congressional Special Election
Democratic state Sen. Timothy Kennedy on Tuesday won the special election for the New York congressional seat vacated by a retiring Democrat, further narrowing the GOP’s slender majority in the House.
Kennedy comfortably defeated his Republican opponent Gary Dickson in the race for the Buffalo-area district seat by a margin of more than 36 percentage points, according to the Associated Press. When Kennedy is officially sworn in to succeed the retiring Brian Higgins, the GOP House majority will be cut to 217-213, affording Speaker Mike Johnson just a single vote to spare on partisan issues.
Republicans will nevertheless take comfort from three upcoming special elections in the next two months for vacant GOP seats, including in the California district most recently held by former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.