What Ryan’s win means

Source: Ryan Campaign

Many candidates passed through Chatham in the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s special and primary elections. The faceoff many followed most closely was Pat Ryan (Dem) vs. Marc Molinaro (Rep).

It was a special election to complete the final four months of Antonio Delgado’s term after his appointment as lieutenant governor. A short incumbency for the winner, Ryan, but an important indicator of voter mood in the Hudson Valley and perhaps elsewhere.

Would the GOP’s surging politics of resentment, anti-abortion and white nationalism prove decisive when people actually filled in ballots? Molinaro’s candidacy was a good test, because he is an unabashed ultraconservative.

Ryan, by contrast, aligned himself with mainstream Democratic issues, including pro-choice in the bitter abortion battles. Some yard signs said, “Choice is on the ballot.”

Ryan’s victory by 2 percentage points (51% to 49%) on Tuesday was substantially narrower than Delgado’s 11-point win in 2020 when he had the advantage of being the incumbent.

Even so, Ryan’s winning at all was termed “unexpected” by some observers. It suggested the venom of current GOP politics has less potency than Democrats had feared. Despite the Trump era – or maybe because of it – moderation seems to be having its season in New York.

Josh Riley’s lopsided primary victory over Jamie Cheney wasn’t a surprise. He had received endorsements from many town Democratic committees. He seemed the more effective campaigner, although observers said Cheney got less wooden and more accessible as the campaign proceeded.

Riley will square off with Marc Molinaro in the newly drawn District 19. This district now includes some Democratic strongholds and might prove to be less of a swing district than the old 19, which Delgado represented.

Pat Ryan, meanwhile, will campaign for Congress representing CD 18.