Ulster County incumbent Democrat Patrick Ryan won a special election to represent New York’s 19th Congressional District, where the candidate made the race a referendum on the Supreme Court’s abortion rulings in a possible midterm preview of November. Ryan will fill the seat previously held by Antonio Delgado, the Democrat who resigned to become New York’s lieutenant governor this summer, and will serve as the district’s representative until 2023. The matchup in the Empire State district, which covers New York’s Catskills and Mid-Hudson Valley regions, may serve as an indication of what’s to come for Republicans in this fall’s midterm elections, as the two candidates brought contrasting priorities to the foreground of their campaigns. In the final week of the campaign to represent the 19th District, which President Biden with less than a 2-point lead in the 2020 election, Ryan, an Army veteran, said during a campaign rally in Woodstock that he hopes to “send another message as the national spotlight starts to turn” on Democrats. NEW YORK SPECIAL ELECTION LAST TEST OF DEMOCRATS’ ABORTION MESSAGES Democrat Pat Ryan and Republican Marcus Molinaro faced off Tuesday in a special election representing New York’s 19th Congressional District. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images) “Think about the message that was sent in Kansas, think about the message that we can send here,” he said, referring to a voter decision in the Midwestern state last month that prevented elected representatives from regulating abortion in Kansas. “How can we be a free country if the government is trying to control women’s bodies?” Ryan asked in his first ad. “This is not the country I fought to defend.” In a campaign organized by Molinaro, however, the debate remained focused on issues such as crime and the economy. VISIT THE FOX NEWS VOTING CENTER FOR THE LATEST PRIMARY RESULTS “This is a special election. This is about the voters of the 19th Congressional District. And it’s both disingenuous and a little insulting to tell them what their issues are,” he said. “They fear for the future and worry about their safety. I hear it everywhere.” Marcus Molinaro, Republican candidate for New York’s 19th Congressional District, speaks during a special election candidate forum at Roscoe Beer Co. in Roscoe, NY on Thursday, August 18, 2022. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images) “Under one-party rule, our communities face runaway inflation, a government-fueled crime wave and massive tax increases,” Molinaro said in a recent social media post. “I will challenge Congress to be the voice desperately needed in DC to fight this insanity.” Molinaro, once the youngest mayor in America when he was elected to represent Tivoli as a teenager, had been name-recognized in the race after running an unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign against former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2018. NEW FACES SHARE MAKING WAVES CHALLENGE HEADS OF HOUSE AT NEW YORK’S PREMIERE DEMI Because of the redistricting, in addition to Tuesday’s special election to fill out the remainder of Delgado’s term, both Molinaro and Ryan are also on the primary ballot for the general election. Ryan also won the Democratic nomination for a full term representing the state’s new 18th District, a seat vacated by Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, DN.Y., who is now seeking to represent the state’s 17th District in the House. Should he advance to the general election, Ryan will face Colin Schmidt, the Republican and Conservative Party candidate who ran unopposed in the primary. Patrick Ryan, Democratic candidate for New York’s 19th Congressional District, speaks during a special election candidate forum at Roscoe Beer Co. in Roscoe, New York, on Thursday, August 18, 2022. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images) Molinaro is running unopposed in the Republican primary for a full term to represent the state’s new 19th District, where he will face the winner of the Democratic primary. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Originally scheduled to be held on June 28, a federal judge moved the date of the congressional and state Senate primaries to August 23 due to the redrawing of congressional districts. The only elections held in June were for governorship and state assembly seats. The Associated Press contributed to this article. Kyle Morris covers politics for Fox News. On Twitter: @RealKyleMorris.
