Incumbent Republican Congressman John Katko has won the race against the Democratic challenger and visiting Syracuse professor Dana Balter by 6 percentage points, a far closer race than expected by republicans. The two elections before Katko had reached at least 20 percent more of the vote than his opponents, and he says this race was humbling in comparison. Dana managed to win Onondaga county by a mere 1,800 votes, but Katko was propped up by his strongholds in Wayne, Cayuga, and Oswego county.
This win for Katko was a very close call, especially considering republicans lost their grip on the House of Representatives and are now in the minority. Katko promises to continue his practice of working across the aisle with democrats to get things done, something he was highly rated for during his two terms. Earlier this year he was named the 7th most bipartisan member of congress, a huge selling point of his campaign. Katko has come under fire recently for his 90% with Trump voting record and his siding with republicans on issues of taxes and healthcare, which may have contributed to his close race with Balter. Lets give both candidates a hand for the hard work they put in, and encourage our newly reelected representative to put us first!