Della Pia narrowly defeated in Tuesday’s Special Election

When the results rolled in Tuesday evening for the Special Election for District 23, Steuben County Republican Chairman Joe Sempolinski won the special election for New York’s current 23rd Congressional District, defeating Democrat Max Della Pia, chairman of the Tioga County Democratic Committee, and an Owego resident. 

Sempolinski will now serve out the remainder of Representative Tom Reed’s term. Reed had already planned not to run for re-election, but ended up resigning in May, prompting a special election. 

Sempolinski served at one time as Reed’s campaign manager. He will serve in Congress until the end of the year, when the current 23rd District’s boundaries expire. Because of this, Sempolinski’s time in the House of Representatives will be brief.

Max Della Pia will be the Democratic nominee for the new 23rd District, and will be vying for the seat, facing Nick Langworthy on Tuesday, Nov. 8. 

But on Tuesday, Sempolinski pulled ahead in the election, bringing in 53.3% of the vote.

Conceding on Wednesday, Della Pia wrote, “It’s hard to write a concession when I don’t feel as if I’ve lost. To get within 5% or 6% shows the strength of my campaign. 

He added, “These results show the Midterm Election, in November, in the New NY23 is winnable and our momentum is not going to stop. This was an energizing experience, getting out the vote for November starts today.”

Josh Riley, an Endicott native and new to the political arena, defeated Jamie Cheney in a Democratic primary contest Tuesday in the newly redrawn 19th Congressional District. Riley captured more than 61% of the vote, beating Cheney 30,462 to 17,474 in unofficial results, which also don’t include absentee ballots.

For full election coverage and voter information in Tioga County, visit the Board of Elections at https://www.tiogacountyny.com/departments/board-of-elections/. You can also call their offices at (607) 687-8261.