John Mannion won the District 22 Central New York House seat from incumbent Republican Rep. Brandon Williams on Tuesday, winning the race with most ballots counted by about 23,000 votes, according to the Associated Press.
The outcome came as a relief for Democrats, who saw the district as perhaps their strongest chance of flipping a House seat in the entire country.
The race was among six battleground congressional elections across New York state, with Democrats hoping to regain control of the House after they turned over several seats to Republicans in 2022.
Williams previously won the district in the 2022 election by just a single percentage point.
On the campaign trail Williams, a first-term conservative, supported former President Donald Trump and mostly opposed abortion rights.
Since taking office, he’s softened his stance on some issues in what he calls a “common sense approach,” emphasizing issues like government spending, support for tax cuts and support for police.
Mannion, a former science teacher, has the backing of the powerful state teacher’s union. He’s a moderate and in the lead-up to the election has said he has no qualms about working with colleagues across the aisle.
In the past, he’s won his elected office by slim margins. First elected to the state senate in 2020, he won his reelection by just 10 votes out of around 123,000 votes.
The Democrat has also faced sexism and workplace harassment allegations, with a group of former staffers coming forward in June. He has denied the allegations.
Despite that, he defeated Democratic primary opponent Sarah Klee Hood by more than 24 percentage points.
Williams has also been accused of harassment, with the Congressman caught on video in December 2023 threatening a top staffer.
Late Tuesday night, it remained too early to call which party will earn a majority in the House of Representatives, with ballots still being counted across the country.
