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Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik Secures Third Term

Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik and State Senator Betty Little at the Queensbury Hotel in Glens Falls
Lucas Willard
/
WAMC
Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik and State Senator Betty Little at the Queensbury Hotel in Glens Falls

  Story updated 11/7/18, 11:20 a.m.

On an Election Night when several New York House seats flipped, Representative Elise Stefanik survived. The 21st District Republican will serve a third term after easily winning reelection.

Joining supporters on stage at the Queensbury Hotel in Glens Falls, the same place Elise Stefanik celebrated her first election four years ago, the Republican incumbent repeated a familiar Election Night pronouncement.

“We did it!”

Stefanik secured a third term in a contest against Democrat Tedra Cobb. According to unofficial results, Stefanik secured just over 55 percent of the vote to Cobb’s 41 percent.

Green Party candidate Lynn Kahn received just under 1.5 percent.

Stefanik thanked her opponents and their supporters, and said it was a tough campaign.

“Please know, for those of you who I didn’t earn your vote today, I will vote just as hard for you as I do for those who voted for me because my job is to represent everyone in this district,” said Stefanik.

Cobb did not mention Stefanik in her concession speech a few hours away in Canton. The former St. Lawrence County legislator did, however, hint at a possible return to politics.

“The person who is standing in front of you today is the person who will be standing in front of you tomorrow, that the values that I share with you today are the values that I will share with you tomorrow. And I want to remind you of that as we proceed forward – because I’m hearing from you that we’re not going to stop. So as we proceed forward I want to remind you of those values. And I want to close with something that I have said over and over again to every group, and that is how deeply I love you. Thank you.”

Stefanik and Cobb both highlighted their willingness to reach across the aisle.

Stefanik said she is confident she can continue to be an effective bipartisan legislator once she joins the minority in the next Congress.

“An example is that I wrote the largest fix to the Affordable Care Act that was signed into law by President Obama. So that show’s that I know how to get things done. Also, the House Armed Services Committee is one of the most bipartisan committees in Congress. The NDAA, for example, passed on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis.”

Democrats also retook control of the New York state Senate.

Republican Betty Little of the 45th Senate District held onto her seat and will serve a ninth term in the upper chamber as Democrats take control of the entire state capitol.

Little said she will continue to advocate for the North Country.

“I think that, you know, a lot of the issues through the years – I have represented the Adirondacks – I think some of the downstaters understand it a little better. And hopefully they will still be interested in helping out an area of the state that’s not growing at the speed that New York City is,” said Little.

Little faced a challenge from Democrat Emily Martz, who previously lost to Cobb in the five-way Democratic primary for the 21st District.

Also celebrating a win in Glens Falls Tuesday night was Republican Dan Stec of the 114th Assembly District. Another former NY-21 Democratic hopeful, Katie Wilson, appeared on the Working Families Party line but she did not actively campaign for the Assembly seat.

In some other regional races, Republican State Senators James Tedisco of the 49th District and George Amedore of the 46th District held onto their seats, deflecting challenges from Democrat Michelle Ostrelich and Pat Strong, respectively.

In the 43rd District, Republican Daphne Jordan will succeed her former boss, the retiring Senator Kathy Marchione, after defeating Democrat Aaron Gladd.

In the 113th Assembly District, Democrat Carrie Woerner will serve a third term, turning away Republican hopeful Morgan Zegers.

Lucas Willard is a news reporter and host at WAMC Northeast Public Radio, which he joined in 2011. He produces and hosts The Best of Our Knowledge and WAMC Listening Party.
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