Mannion wins hotly contested NY-22 Congressional seat

John Mannion is the projected winner of New York’s 22nd Congressional District, ousting the Republican incumbent Brandon Williams in the nationally watched race.

The New York state Senator and former high school teacher proclaimed victory to a group of enthusiastic supporters at the Sky Armory in downtown Syracuse, even getting a concession call from Williams midway through his victory speech.

“That was Representative Williams, he was very gracious. He just conceded but I thank him,” Mannion said after taking the impromptu phone call. “What I remember growing up is that we respected [each other] even if we disagreed, and we got to get back there.”

In an election that already includes one of the closest Presidential contests in recent memory, local voters were met with an equally contested race for New York’s 22nd Congressional District.

The projected numbers from Tuesday night were no different, with Mannion holding a slim margin of around 52% to 45% of the vote by the time he made his victory speech around 11 p.m..

Photo by Surya Vaidy

John Mannion is interviewed by Channel Nine News after his victory speech.

Tensions were high leading up to Mannion’s victory. David Driesen, a Syracuse University law professor, noted his personal relationship with Mannion, describing him as a “pretty down-to-earth guy” before admitting how his “anxiety about Trump sort of overpowers this.”

Williams originally won his seat in 2022 by a mere couple thousand votes in a narrow contest against then-challenger Francis Conole.

Donna Freyleue, a retired lawyer, hinted in her support for Mannion why the result was not the same for Williams this time around.

“Central New York is a very centrist place. It’s not strongly left or strongly right. Brandon Williams is very right wing and he’s just not suitable for Central New York,” Freyleue said.

The Newhouse School hosted the first debate between Williams and Mannion on Oct.1. During the debate, the candidates largely disagreed on topics such as the economy, gun control regulation, abortion access, and affordable housing.

Up until Tuesday night’s result, the race had been marked with political campaign and advertising strategies trying to discredit each other, with Williams labeling Mannion a “radical” Democrat and Mannion painting Williams as a “MAGA extremist.”

Proposition One? Proposition won.

Flipping the ballot over in New York, voters also found the option to vote “yes” or “no” on Proposition One, which has reportedly passed.

As of 11 p.m. EST, ABC News projected that the equal rights proposition comfortably passed with over 60% of the vote.

The proposal states it would “protect against unequal treatment based on ethnicity, national origin, age disability, and sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity and pregnancy.” 

Supporters of the amendment expect it to go a long way to protecting abortion rights and LGBTQ+ rights across the state. But Proposition One also drew significant criticism, with opponents claiming that it could open the door to “special rights for migrants and transgender athletes.”

Elsewhere on the ballot

Elsewhere in the state, incumbent U.S. Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand comfortably won re-election over Republican challenger Michael D. Sapraicone.

The AP called the senate race shortly after polls closed in New York at 9 p.m. EST. As of 11 p.m. EST, Gillibrand held a reported lead of over a million votes over her Republican challenger.

New York’s 28 electoral votes were also declared early in the night by the AP for Kamala Harris.