© 2024
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
An update has been released for the Android version of the WAMC App that addresses performance issues. Please check the Google Play Store to download and update to the latest version.

April Presidential Primary Could Include Special Election For WNY Congressional Seat

Pat Bradley
/
WAMC
karen_dewitt_nerle_ny_27_election_10-28-19.mp3

It seems increasingly likely that a special election for the Western New York Congressional seat vacated by the disgraced Chris Collins will be held the same day as New York’s presidential primary in April, and that has Republicans in the state crying foul.

Collins resigned his seat in late September before pleading guilty to federal charges of insider trading.  

Collins, the first congressional representative to support Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, represented the most heavily Republican district in the state. 

It’s up to Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo to decide when the special election to replace Collins should be held. 

Cuomo has said that he has not yet made up his mind on the exact date, but when asked about it, he’s repeatedly made the case that the April 28 presidential primary would be a good choice. He says it would also save the state money to add the election to an already established voting day. The governor spoke about it most recently on Rochester public radio station WXXI. 

“Would you rather have a special election and charge tax payers $1 million and ask them to come out and vote just for Congress. Or do it on April 28 when they're also coming out to vote for president? “Cuomo said on October 24. “My instinct is do it on April 28. People want to participate, but make it easy to participate. Don't ask me to come out and vote 11 times. I have other things to do in my life.”  

But in April, it will be mainly Democrats who will be going to the polls. Several Democratic candidates are running for president, but Trump is not expected to have any serious Republican challengers running in New York state.  

The head of the state’s Republican Party, Nick Langworthy, says holding the election for the Congressional seat on the day of the presidential primary unfairly disadvantages the GOP candidate running for the 27th district seat. He believes Cuomo is doing it on purpose. 

“I should expect no more from Andrew Cuomo than to try to put his thumb on the scale,” said Langworthy who said it should be held “on a day when there’s no other distractions.”  

“He’ll say it’s about cost savings, it’s about him trying to cheat,” said Langworthy, who spoke at the state Capitol on October 17.  

Langworthy says the seat should be filled as soon as possible so that constituents can be represented during a tumultuous time in Washington. 

“So we’re going to let these people go without representation while people are trying to impeach the president?” he said. “Call a special for January.” 

Cuomo counters that voters of either party would be as likely to turn out on the presidential primary voting day as they would on a separate day just for that seat.

“If there's a Congressional seat that's important, why wouldn't they show up on April 28 but they would show up on a special election day?" Cuomo said. “And it costs a million dollars to have a special election. What happened to conservatives wanting to reduce government spending?” 

If the special election were to be held in late April, the governor would need to announce it by early February. 

The candidates so far are Democrat Nate McMurray, who is supervisor of the town of Grand Island in Erie County. GOP candidates include Robert Ortt and Chris Jacobs, who are both Western New York state senators.   

Cuomo says voters will have a second chance to choose who holds that congressional seat later in 2020, when the general election is held in November.

Karen DeWitt is Capitol Bureau chief for New York State Public Radio, a network of public radio stations in New York state. She has covered state government and politics for the network since 1990.
Related Content