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      Democrat Pat Ryan Wins in House Race That Turned on Abortion

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      HUDSON, N.Y. — Pat Ryan, a Democratic county executive in New York’s Hudson Valley, has won a special House election on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press, in a contest that was seen as a potential test of the impact that the recent Supreme Court decision on abortion might have on the midterm elections.The result in the closely watched race, which was considered a tossup, will keep the swing-district seat, formerly held by Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado, under Democratic control.Mr. Ryan was able to keep his early lead, ultimately winning 52 percent of the vote to his Republican opponent Marc Molinaro’s 48 percent, with nearly 95 percent of votes cast.Mr. Ryan sought to highlight abortion as the predominant issue in his campaign and contrast his support for protecting abortion access nationwide with the position of Mr. Molinaro, who believes that the decision ought to rest with states.In speeches and campaign ads, Mr. Ryan, the Ulster County executive and a combat veteran, urged voters in the 19th District to see the election as a crucial opportunity to send a message decrying attacks on abortion access, voting rights and, more broadly, democratic principles.“Choice was on the ballot. Freedom was on the ballot, and tonight choice and freedom won,” Mr. Ryan said on Twitter early Wednesday. “We voted like our democracy was on the line because it is.”Though polls show that a majority of voters support some access to abortion, Democrats have been wrestling with how best to translate that into support for the party.Mr. Molinaro, the Dutchess County executive, largely avoided the topic of abortion, focusing instead on day-to-day voter anxieties, from crime and inflation to the price of baby formula.Marc Molinaro lost the race on Tuesday, but will be running again to win a full term in November.Cindy Schultz for The New York TimesIn addressing his supporters late Tuesday evening, Mr. Molinaro refused to concede. “Whether it’s tonight or it’s Nov. 8, we are going to win the 19th Congressional District and give voice to people who are working too damn hard and getting too little in return.”Mr. Ryan now heads to Washington to serve out the remaining four months of Mr. Delgado’s term. It was his second bid for Congress: He ran in 2018 against Mr. Delgado, coming in second in a crowded primary.In the final days of the race, the Democrat’s campaign received a boost from party leaders including Mr. Delgado and Gov. Kathy Hochul, who appeared with Mr. Ryan at a rally in Kingston, and he benefited from a vigorous get-out-the-vote campaign that included calls, letters and postcards.Mr. Ryan will be seeking a full term in Congress in November, but — in a confusing redistricting-year twist — it will not be in the 19th District. His home lies within the new boundaries of the 18th District, where he is running in November. His Republican opponent in that race will be Assemblyman Colin Schmitt of New Windsor.Despite Mr. Molinaro’s loss in the 19th District, he, too, will be seeking a full term in Congress in November — in the district’s new contours. More

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      Here’s who won and who lost in Florida, New York and Oklahoma.

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      Voters in Florida, New York and Oklahoma went to the polls on Tuesday. Here is a rundown of some of the most important wins and losses so far.New YorkRepresentative Jerrold Nadler defeated Representative Carolyn B. Maloney in the Democratic primary in the 12th Congressional District, in the heart of Manhattan, after a New York court combined their longtime seats in redistricting. Mr. Nadler and Ms. Maloney are both House committee chairs with storied careers.Pat Ryan, a Democrat, won an upset over Marc Molinaro, a Republican, in a special election in the 19th Congressional District, which both candidates framed as an opportunity for voters to send a national message after Supreme Court rulings on guns and abortion. Joe Sempolinski, a Republican, defeated Max Della Pia, a Democrat, in a special election in the 23rd District. He will fill a seat vacated by Tom Reed, a fellow Republican accused of sexual misconduct.In the regularly scheduled Republican primary in the 23rd District, Nick Langworthy, the state Republican Party chairman, won over Carl Paladino, a former candidate for governor with a history of racist, sexist and homophobic remarks. Mr. Sempolinski, who won the special election to serve until January, did not run in the primary for a full term.Dan Goldman, a former federal prosecutor who helped impeach President Donald J. Trump, won a crowded Democratic primary over State Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou in the 10th Congressional District, a rare open seat in the heart of New York City. The field also included Mondaire Jones, a sitting congressman from another district; Carlina Rivera, a city councilwoman; and others.Robert Zimmerman, a member of the Democratic National Committee, won the Democratic nomination in the Third District, on Long Island. He is expected to face a stiff challenge in November from the Republican nominee, George Santos.Sean Patrick Maloney, the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, beat back a progressive challenger, State Senator Alessandra Biaggi, in the exurbs north of New York City. Mr. Maloney had drawn heavy criticism when he chose to run in this district, the 17th, after redistricting made his current one less reliably Democratic.FloridaRepresentative Charlie Crist easily won the Democratic primary for governor over Nikki Fried, Florida’s agriculture commissioner, and will now face Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican. Representative Val B. Demings won the Democratic nomination to challenge Senator Marco Rubio, handily defeating three lesser-known candidates.Representative Matt Gaetz beat back a Republican primary challenge from Mark Lombardo, a Marine Corps veteran and former FedEx executive. Mr. Gaetz’s hard-right views are popular in this strongly Republican district in the Florida Panhandle, and he won despite being a subject of a child sex trafficking investigation.Cory Mills, an Army veteran who ran an ad likening mask mandates to Taliban control, won the Republican primary in a safely red district north of Orlando. He defeated State Representative Anthony Sabatini, who recently called for Florida to “sever all ties” with the Justice Department and suggested arresting F.B.I. agents, and several other candidates.Maxwell Alejandro Frost, a progressive activist who would be the first member of Generation Z to serve in Congress, won in a crowded Democratic primary for this solidly blue Orlando-area seat that Ms. Demings is leaving to run for Senate.Representative Daniel Webster won an unexpectedly narrow victory in the 11th District’s Republican primary over Laura Loomer, a far-right conspiracy theorist who has called herself “a #ProudIslamophobe.” Ms. Loomer had not been expected to pose a serious challenge.Anna Paulina Luna, a Trump endorsee, is the Republican nominee in the 13th District, a seat in the Tampa Bay area made much redder after redistricting. She defeated Kevin Hayslett and Amanda Makki and is expected to win the general election to replace Mr. Crist.OklahomaRepresentative Markwayne Mullin defeated the former Oklahoma House speaker T.W. Shannon in a runoff for the Republican nomination to replace Senator James M. Inhofe, who is retiring. He is expected to win easily in November over Kendra Horn, the Democratic nominee. More

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      Daniel Goldman, Ex-Trump Prosecutor, Tops Crowded Field in N.Y. Primary

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      Daniel Goldman, the former assistant U.S. attorney who prosecuted the first impeachment case against Donald J. Trump, captured the Democratic nomination for an open House seat covering parts of Brooklyn and Manhattan, according to The Associated Press.The victory on Tuesday in the heavily Democratic district all but assures Mr. Goldman a seat in Congress come 2023; he will face Benine Hamdan, a little-known Republican candidate, in November. Mr. Goldman, an heir to the Levi Strauss fortune, has a net worth of up to $253 million and pumped nearly $5 million of his own money into the race.As of early Wednesday morning, Mr. Goldman had won 16,686 votes, or 25.72 percent of the total, according to unofficial results from the city Board of Elections. Yuh-Line Niou, the runner-up, a state assemblywoman from Manhattan, won 15,380 votes, or 23.71 percent of the total. Some absentee ballots have yet to be counted, and on Tuesday night, Ms. Niou declined to concede.During his victory speech Tuesday night, which he delivered before the race was formally called, Mr. Goldman singled out the Jewish and Chinese-American communities in the district for backing his campaign.“Tonight though is not a victory for myself, or any one person,” he said. “It is a victory for all of us, all of us who will not let authoritarian forces undermine the foundation of our democracy and the rule of law.”He vanquished several candidates who had stronger political ties to the area and who were drawn into the 10th Congressional District after an unusually messy redistricting process earlier this year.The district’s contours changed to include the northwest precincts of Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan — prompting Representative Jerrold Nadler, who now represents the 10th District, to run in the 12th District against another incumbent, Carolyn Maloney, after that district was redrawn to include his Upper West Side base.The result was a rare open seat in the heart of New York City, and a political gold rush. Thirteen Democratic candidates were on the ballot Tuesday, including a former congresswoman, a current congressman from the northern New York City suburbs, two local state assemblywomen and a local city councilwoman.Carlina Rivera speaks to supporters and volunteers on the Lower East Side.Sarah Blesener for The New York TimesMondaire Jones conceded to Daniel Goldman at his Park Slope election party.Dave Sanders for The New York TimesMr. Goldman lacked the political connections of many of his opponents. He had never held elective office before, nor had he been particularly involved with local Democratic political clubs or neighborhood community boards. But his wealth enabled him to carpet bomb the district with television ads. And Mr. Goldman was able to successfully advance his case for election: that only a lawyer with his background prosecuting crime was equipped to protect American democracy in the age of Mr. Trump.In the waning days of the race, several of Mr. Goldman’s opponents sought to turn his financial stature and investment portfolio against him. According to financial disclosures with the House, which cover an 18-month period ending June 30, Mr. Goldman has a line of credit from Goldman Sachs worth up to $50 million, and has held investments in the weapons manufacturer Sturm, Ruger & Company; in oil companies including Chevron and Exxon Mobil; and the parent company of Fox News.Yuh-Line Niou did not concede on Tuesday night.Stephanie Keith for The New York TimesMr. Goldman promised to put his assets into a blind trust upon taking office and argued his holdings were so politically diverse because his portfolio was structured to mirror the S&P 500.Last Monday, two of his competitors — Ms. Niou and Representative Mondaire Jones, the congressman who currently represents Rockland County and parts of Westchester — held a joint news conference accusing Mr. Goldman of trying to buy the election. Mr. Jones called Mr. Goldman a “conservative Democrat.”“He is using his inherited wealth to distort the Democratic process, to the point where he may well win this race if this grass-roots coalition does not stop him from doing so,” Mr. Jones said. Reporting was contributed by Téa Kvetenadze, Jasmine Sheena, Sadef Kully and Samira Sadeque. More

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      Nadler Routs Maloney in Marquee Showdown of Bruising New York Primaries

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      Representative Jerrold Nadler, the influential chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, handily defeated his longtime congressional neighbor, Carolyn B. Maloney, in a bruising three-way primary battle on Tuesday that was preordained to end one of the powerful Democrats’ political careers.The star-crossed skirmish in the heart of Manhattan was unlike any New York City — or the Democratic Party writ large — had seen in recent memory. Though few ideological differences were at stake, it pitted two committee chairs who have served side by side in Washington since the 1990s against each other, and cleaved party faithful into rival factions.Allies had tried to pull Mr. Nadler off the collision course into a neighboring race after the state’s calamitous redistricting process unexpectedly combined their West and East Side districts this spring. But he pushed forward, relying in a lightning-fast campaign on his reputation as an old-school progressive and leading foil to Donald J. Trump to win over voters in one of the nation’s most liberal districts.“Here’s the thing: I’m a New Yorker, just like Bella Abzug, Ted Weiss and Bill Fitts Ryan,” Mr. Nadler, 75, told supporters after his victory, referencing liberal lions who represented New York in Congress. “We New Yorkers just don’t know how to surrender.”Mr. Nadler, in thanking Ms. Maloney, said that the two had “spent much of our adult life working together to better New York and our nation.”He won the contest for New York’s redrawn 12th District with 56 percent of the vote, compared with Ms. Maloney’s 24 percent, with 93 percent of votes counted. A third candidate, Suraj Patel, earned 19 percent, siphoning crucial votes away from Ms. Maloney, whom he nearly beat two years ago.It all but assures Mr. Nadler a 16th full term in Congress and Ms. Maloney’s political retirement.The race — which ended in underhanded jabs about Mr. Nadler’s mental and physical fitness — was the highlight of a string of ugly primary contests that played out across the state on Tuesday, from Long Island to Buffalo, as Democrats and Republicans each fought over rival personalities and the ideological direction of their parties.In another of the most closely watched contests, Representative Sean Patrick Maloney, the moderate lawmaker tasked with protecting Democrats’ narrow House majority, easily fended off a challenge from Alessandra Biaggi, a state senator and a rising star of New York’s left wing.The race in the lower Hudson Valley had become an ideological proxy fight, and Ms. Biaggi’s defeat was the latest high-profile setback for leftists in New York. The former President Bill Clinton and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi endorsed Mr. Maloney, while Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez publicly backed Ms. Biaggi.“Tonight, mainstream won,” Mr. Maloney said in his victory speech. He will face Mike Lawler, a Republican assemblyman, in what may be a competitive general election.Outside Buffalo, Carl Paladino, a businessman known for his explosive, sometimes racist remarks, was leading a Republican primary against Nick Langworthy, the state Republican chairman who entered the race because he feared that Mr. Paladino could harm the party’s statewide ticket in November.A 13-candidate Democratic primary in the new 10th District connecting Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan remained too close to call, as Daniel S. Goldman held a narrow lead. The results were similarly close in a special election for a Hudson Valley swing seat, vacated by Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado, that could offer a preview of the general election.The primary contests were particularly painful for Democrats, who entered the election cycle optimistic that the decennial redistricting process in blue New York would yield crucial pickup opportunities to protect their loose grip on the House of Representatives this fall.Instead, the state’s highest court ruled this spring that the Democrats’ congressional map was unconstitutional and put in place a neutral alternative. It set off anguishing intraparty brawls that have drained millions of dollars that party leaders had hoped would go toward defeating Republicans and will now cost the state Ms. Maloney’s important House Oversight and Reform Committee chairmanship in Washington. More

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      Sean Patrick Maloney Repels Challenge to Win Bitterly Fought Primary

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      Representative Sean Patrick Maloney of New York, the chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, won his primary contest on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press, defeating Alessandra Biaggi, a state senator who challenged him from the left.The race for the newly redrawn 17th District of New York was a high-drama, divisive affair that drew involvement from an array of national figures. Democrats including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and former President Bill Clinton backed Mr. Maloney, while Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and a number of progressive organizations supported the state senator.“Tonight, mainstream won,” Mr. Maloney said on Tuesday night. “Common sense won. Democrats want candidates who get results and bring home the win.”Alessandra Biaggi, a progressive state senator, argued that the Democratic Party’s leadership had been too timid in the face of urgent threats to the country — including the overturning of Roe v. Wade.Mary Altaffer/Associated PressThroughout the race, Mr. Maloney cast himself as a pragmatic politician who understood the needs of the region intimately and had a record of delivering for the area. He campaigned on recent Democratic legislative victories and suggested that Ms. Biaggi was too far to the left for the district on issues like public safety.“If you look around the country, I think what’s clear is that the common-sense wing of the Democratic Party that is focused on working with people to get things done is on the rise, and the socialist wing is on the decline, and it’s about time,” Mr. Maloney said in an interview last week. (Ms. Biaggi does not identify as a democratic socialist.)A number of Mr. Maloney’s supporters argued that Ms. Biaggi’s past criticism of the police could become a liability in November. And some of her past remarks were used against her as outside money poured in against Ms. Biaggi from groups including the Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York, which endorsed former President Donald J. Trump in 2020.Ms. Biaggi, whose grandfather, Mario Biaggi, served in Congress, rose to prominence in New York politics in 2018 after defeating a powerful incumbent. She became a leader of the state’s left wing and ran an energetic campaign for the 17th District in the northern exurbs of New York City. Ms. Biaggi argued that the party’s leadership had been too timid in the face of urgent threats to the country — especially the overturning of Roe v. Wade — and positioned herself as a fighter, deriding her opponent as a “selfish corporate Democrat.”But she had just three months to introduce herself to voters in the newly configured district, where she only recently moved (though she grew up in the area), and Mr. Maloney, who is well-known in the Hudson Valley area, had huge institutional advantages, especially on the fund-raising front and through his extensive labor support.The race was set in motion after a messy redistricting process that split Mr. Maloney’s current district in two. Instead of running for a reconfigured version of his seat, Mr. Maloney chose to contest a slightly more Democratic-leaning district now held by Representative Mondaire Jones.Though Mr. Maloney noted that his Cold Spring home was within the lines of the district — which under new boundaries includes parts of Westchester County and the Hudson Valley — the move infuriated colleagues, who denounced it as a power grab from the man tasked with protecting the Democratic House majority.Mr. Maloney has said he could have handled the process better, even as he strongly defended his tenure as chair of the House Democratic campaign arm.“I understand people have concerns about it,” he said. “I’ve heard that, and I’m accountable for that.”He now heads into what is expected to be a competitive general election.Kristin Hussey contributed reporting. More