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UPDATE: This story was updated at 12:20 a.m. on November 7, 2024.

Democrat John Mannion won the seat for New York’s 22nd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, the Associated Press announced at 11:14 p.m. Tuesday evening. Mannion, who has served as a state senator since 2020, ran against incumbent Republican Brandon Williams.

Mannion unseated Williams after he had only served one term in the House. Williams conceded the race Tuesday night.

As of 12:02 a.m. Wednesday, the Onondaga County Board of Elections’ unofficial results showed Mannion had 58.9% of votes and Williams had almost 41% — with all ballots from Election Day, early and absentee voting counted. The New York Times reported that Mannion had 54.1% and Williams had 45.9%, with over 95% of votes counted, as of 5:31 p.m. Wednesday.

Mannion’s campaign released a statement sent to The Daily Orange at 11:15 p.m. Tuesday. He said he is honored and grateful to represent NY-22 in Congress.

“It is clear, now more than ever, that the people of NY-22 want unity in a time of division, and want a representative who will fight for a woman’s right to choose, protect Social Security and Medicare, improve our schools, and lower costs for working families,” Mannion said in the release.

Mannion also delivered remarks on his win at a Wednesday morning press conference, where he said he is concerned about President-elect Donald Trump’s future policies. He said he hopes Trump has success in his second term but also that he aims to act as a check on presidential and Senate power during his time in office.

Born and raised in Syracuse, Mannion was previously a public school science teacher and president of West Genesee Teachers’ Association. He also chaired the New York State Senate’s Committee on Disability.

Mannion represented the 50th district of the state senate. Christopher Ryan, a Democrat, won the seat this election. He ran against Republican Nick Paro and won with nearly 54% of the vote, according to unofficial Onondaga County BOE results.

NY-22 includes the cities of Syracuse, Utica and Rome, in Onondaga, Oneida, Madison, Cayuga and Cortland counties. Onondaga County significantly led in votes for Mannion, according to NYT. Cortland County narrowly led for Mannion, while Madison led for Williams.

The New York State Independent Redistricting Committee approved a redrawn map of the district earlier this year. The redistricting cut portions of Oneida County from the district and added on portions of Cayuga and Cortland Counties, as well as the city of Auburn. The redrawing was expected to add tens of thousands of Democrats to the district.

In 2022, the IRC failed to approve proposed redistricting, leading Democratic state legislators to draw their own map before that year’s election. Democrats then filed a lawsuit to throw out the map after Republican candidates performed well in that election. The lawsuit claimed the prior map marginalized minority communities.

Williams accused Mannion of making a “backroom deal” to gain political favor with the new map, though Mannion called the claim “desperate” and said voting on new maps was part of his job as a state senator.

During Wednesday’s press conference, Mannion said Williams was gracious in his concession phone call to him and said he would support him in transitioning to the role.

Mannion is set to take office when the 119th Congress begins on Jan. 3, 2025.

This story will be updated with additional reporting.

Published on November 5, 2024 at 11:26 pm

Contact Stephanie: spwright@syr.edu