NY election results: Dems maintain control, including Hochul, as GOP chase key upsets

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and fellow Democrats seized key election victories in Tuesday’s midterms, slapping down Republican predictions of a “red wave” in the deeply blue state.

At the top, Hochul became the first woman elected governor of New York, fending off a tough challenge from Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-Long Island, who conceded Wednesday afternoon.

Hochul, 64, spent seven years as the state's lieutenant governor, and previously ascended to her current office after former Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigned in August 2021 amid sexual harassment allegations.

Campaigning on vows to protect abortion rights, create good-paying jobs and defend democracy against election deniers, Democrats won several crucial state and federal election showdowns across New York.

"Given the choice, New Yorkers refuse to go backwards on our long march toward progress, and we embrace the torch that has been passed to us," Hochul said during her victory speech in Manhattan Tuesday.

Republicans’ attempts to stoke voter frustrations with historic inflation and rising crime, in the end, failed to overcome the Democrats’ two-to-one voter enrollment edge and sway enough unaffiliated voters.

Leaving polling places, many women talked about casting ballots to sustain New York’s abortion rights in a post-Roe nation without federal protections, the USA TODAY Network reported.

Other voters took to social media to emphasize the importance of defeating lawmakers who rejected the outcome of 2020 elections, including Zeldin.

Hochul wins full term as governorHochul holds off Zeldin to become NY's first woman elected governor

First woman elected governor in NYWho Is Kathy Hochul? NY governor first woman to win full term

Some NY congressional races too close to call

Meanwhile, several Republican congressional wins in upstate New York could prove key nationally as the GOP fought to claim control of one or both houses of Congress, though some races in other states remained too close to call.

NY election: Hochul holds off Zeldin to become NY's first woman elected governor

In New York's 19th District, for example, Republican Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro defeated Democrat Josh Riley, by a tight margin of 142,653 votes to 136,468.

In a stunning upset, Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, the embattled chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, conceded his own race Wednesday morning to Assemblyman Mike Lawler in the 17th District.

The national election results, which could severely harm Democratic President Joe Biden’s remaining political agenda, may throw gasoline on already explosive political clashes across the country.

Everything from weathering a potential recession to responding to COVID-19 surges could become a party loyalty test, as the nation’s attention quickly pivots to the high-stakes 2024 presidential race.

How NY election avoided ‘red wave?'

Despite some Republican upsets Tuesday, Democrats appeared poised to maintain control of the state Senate and Assembly chambers, according to vote totals late Tuesday.

The outcome extended one-party control of state government, easing Hochul’s path to build on her agenda impacting everything from gun control and abortion rights to health care staffing and high-tech investments in New York.

The path to victory for some Republicans in New York stemmed, in part, from court-drawn congressional maps that overturned Democrats’ gerrymander. The legal saga turned New York into one of the most competitive states in the midterms.

But as Democrats’ campaigns faltered heading into Tuesday, they gained an 11th hour boost from high-profile Democrats, including President Joe Biden, who stumped alongside Hochul and others during three recent visits to New York.

The Democratic cavalry call appeared to pay off, as a surge in voter turnout in the New York City area helped offset underwhelming early voter returns and propel Hochul and other Democrats to victories.

How Kathy Hochul defeated Lee Zeldin in NY

With 93% of the votes counted, Hochul held a 52% to 47% lead Wednesday morning over Zeldin, who was trying to become the first G.O.P candidate to win a statewide office since 2002. The race was the closest run for the governor's seat since Republican George Pataki beat Democratic incumbent Mario Cuomo in 1994.

The Buffalo Democrat's fundraising advantages and bully pulpit appeared to prove too much for Zeldin, as well as the fact New York has more than 6 million Democratic voters enrolled compared to roughly 3 million Republicans.

Yet the tighter-than-expected election results suggested Zeldin’s attempts to capitalize on voters’ fears about public safety and a looming recession attracted many of the roughly 3 million additional voters unaffiliated with a party.

While Zeldin’s vote tally soared in parts of upstate, he underperformed in New York City and the Lower Hudson Valley. Zeldin’s prior support of former President Donald Trump assuredly hurt him in the downstate region, which has voted in droves against Trump.

In a statement Wednesday, Zeldin described his run as a "once in a generation campaign, with a very close margin in the bluest of blue states."

"Those controlling Albany should take note," he wrote on Twitter. "New Yorkers of all walks of life are sick of the attacks on their wallets, their safety, their freedoms and the quality of their kids' education and are hitting their breaking point, as proven by these results."

Amid national abortion backlash, Hochul’s vows to protect women’s health likely helped to drive women voters to the polls, despite her prior role as lieutenant governor to Cuomo, who became embroiled in sexual harassment allegations and pandemic-related scandals that ultimately led to his resignation.

Sean Patrick Maloney loses to Mike Lawler in NY

The national battle over control of Congress featured the high-profile Hudson Valley race in New York’s 17th District.

That’s where five-term incumbent Maloney, D-Cold Spring, conceded a tight race to state Assemblyman Mike Lawler, R-Pearl River.

The race had garnered national attention, with Republicans targeting Maloney, who chairs the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Among many issues debated, Lawler supported state control of abortion policy and federal intervention into New York’s state law on bail, which limits the number of bail-eligible crimes.

How many people voted in NY?

Hochul’s path to victory ran through New York City due in part to solid voter turnout in deeply Democratic boroughs like the Bronx and Brooklyn.

With 93% of the votes counted, the governor's race had a total of nearly 5.7 million votes. That's compared to 6.1 million total votes during the 2018 gubernatorial race.

USA TODAY Network reporter Asher Stockler contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on New York State Team: NY election results: Democrats, Gov. Hochul slap down GOP 'red wave'