Democrats on the verge of flipping 3 NYS congressional seats

Democrats appeared on the verge of flipping up to three congressional seats Tuesday in New York in races that were expected to play a key role in which party controls the House of Representatives.

Democrat John Mannion defeated Rep. Brandon Williams (R-Syracuse) in a central New York district. Ithaca attorney Josh Riley defeated incumbent Rep. Marc Molinaro (R-Catskill) in a district that stretches from the Hudson River Valley to the Southern Tier.

And in Nassau County, Democrat Laura Gillen declared victory over Rep. Anthony D'Esposito (R-Island Park), though the Republican has not conceded.

If Gillen wins, it would be a net gain of three seats for Democrats in New York, which featured seven nationally watched races. 

No state other than California has as many congressional seats in play as does New York. As a result, races here have spurred nearly $90 million in campaign spending by special-interest groups and nearly $50 million by the candidates’ campaigns — meaning New York ranks about the biggest spending races in the country.

Nationally, more than $1 billion has been spent since Labor Day alone, CNN reported.

Going into the election, Republicans held 220 seats in the House of Representatives, Democrats held 212. There are three vacancies. To win control, a party must win 218 seats this election.

Control of the House will determine not only agenda for Congress but also influence the agenda of the winner of the presidential election, Republican Donald Trump or Democrat Kamala Harris.

On Long Island, perhaps the most watched race was Gillen-D'Esposito. Gillen, the former Hempstead town supervisor, declared victory around midnight with a roughly 6,000-vote lead when the Nassau County Board of Elections reported results with all voting districts tabulated.

Incumbents won the Island's other two swing districts: Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) defeating Republican Michael LiPetri, a former state assemblyman from Farmingdale in the 3rd District; and Rep. Nick LaLota (R-Amityville) beating Democrat John Avlon in the 1st District.

As the campaigns hit the stretch run, Lawrence Levy, executive dean of suburban studies at Hofstra University, told Newsday: "Control of Congress runs through New York State, and particularly through Long Island."

Those weren't the only New York races to watch.

Among the upstate races under the microscope, two incumbents appeared headed to victory.

Rep. Michael Lawler of Rockland County held a 10-point lead over former Congressman Mondaire Jones, a Democrat, with about two-thirds of voting districts reporting. Also, Democrat Pat Ryan of Ulster County held a 10-point lead over Republican Alison Esposito in the Hudson Valley with about 95% of voting districts reporting.

But two other upstate incumbents — Williams and Molinaro — weren't faring as well.

Williams lost to Mannion by 8 percentage points, a margin perhaps bigger than expected.

Elsewhere, races in Virginia, Alaska, New Mexico, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Maine, California, Texas and one centered around Omaha, Nebraska, are among the 50 or so most closely watched. Many of those contests were so close Tuesday that few winners were declared before midnight.

By Yancey Roy

yancey.roy@newsday.com@yanceyroy