2018 New York's 25th congressional district special election

A special election for New York's 25th congressional district was held following the death of U.S. Representative Louise Slaughter. Democrat Joseph Morelle defeated Republican Jim Maxwell on November 6, 2018.

2018 New York's 25th congressional district
special election

November 6, 2018

Nominee Joseph Morelle Jim Maxwell Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 141,290 101,085 Percentage 58.3% 41.7%

U.S. Representative before election Louise Slaughter Democratic Elected U.S. Representative Joseph Morelle Democratic

Background

Incumbent Representative Louise Slaughter died at the age of 88 on March 16, 2018, after suffering a concussion earlier in the month.[1]

Following precedent set in 2010, concurrent elections were held in November, one to fill the remainder of Slaughter's term, and the other to fill the seat for the next term. The district was left without Congressional representation until then.[2]

Nominees for special elections are selected by the parties in the counties that comprise the congressional district. There are no primaries. The filing deadline for party nominations was August 30, 2018, and for independent petitions was September 4, 2018.[3]

Democratic primary

The following information pertains to the regular election for the 25th District for a full term to the 116th Congress.

Declared

• Adam McFadden, Rochester City Council member[4]
• Joseph Morelle, New York State Assembly Majority Leader[5][6][7][8][9]
• Robin Wilt, Brighton town board member [6][10][11][9]
• Rachel Barnhart, former television journalist, former Rochester mayoral candidate and founder of Rochester for All[12][13]

Declined

• Robert Duffy, former lieutenant governor of New York and former mayor of Rochester[14][15] (endorsed Morelle)
• Lovely Warren, Mayor of Rochester[14][15] (endorsed Morelle)
• Harry Bronson, New York State Assemblyman[14][15] (endorsed Morelle)
• Adam Bello, Monroe County Clerk[15] (endorsed Morelle)
• Cedric Alexander, Deputy Mayor of Rochester, former Police Chief[7]
• Van White, Rochester School Board President[6][9]
• Andrew Gilchrist, teacher[16] (running for State Assembly)

Democratic primary results[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Joseph Morelle	16,245	45.63%
	Democratic	Rachel A. Barnhart	7,003	19.67%
	Democratic	Robin Wilt	6,158	17.30%
	Democratic	Adam McFadden	6,103	17.14%

Republican primary

Declared

• Jim Maxwell, Neurosurgeon[14][7][15][5][18]

Declined

• Joe Robach, New York State Senator[19]
• Mark Assini, 2014 & 2016 Republican nominee, Gates Town Supervisor[14][15]
• Cheryl L. Dinolfo, Monroe County Executive[15]

General election

Results

[20]

New York's 25th congressional district special election, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Joseph Morelle	141,290	58.29%	+2.10%
	Republican	Jim Maxwell	101,085	41.71%	-2.10%
Total votes			'242,375'	'100.0%'	N/A
	Democratic hold

As the winner of the special election, Morelle was sworn in on November 13 rather than waiting until the new Congressional term. He also won the regular election for a new two-year term beginning in January 2019.

References

1. Smith, Harrison (March 16, 2018). "Rep. Louise M. Slaughter, N.Y. Democrat who championed women's rights, dies at 88". The Washington Post.
2. Reisman, Nick (August 20, 2018). "Cuomo Synchronizes NY-25 Special With General Election". NY State of Politics.
3. http://www.elections.ny.gov/NYSBOE/law/2018SpecialElectionCalendar25CD.pdf
4. "City Councilman Adam McFadden running for Congress". WHAM. March 30, 2018.
5. "Joe Morelle on possible Special Election run after Louise Slaughter's death". WHAM ABC13. March 17, 2018. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
6. Gorbman, Randy (March 26, 2018). "Candidates for 25th Congressional seat announcing". WBFO. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
7. Domingues, Christina (March 22, 2018). "JOSEPH ROBACH AMONG LIST OF CANDIDATES CONSIDERING RUN FOR SLAUGHTER'S SEAT". Spectrum News Rochester. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
8. "Assemblyman Joseph Morelle to run for Louise Slaughter's congressional seat". Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
9. "Race heats up to fill Slaughter's House seat". The Hill. March 27, 2018. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
10. "Building on the Legacy of Progressive Leadership for the Rochester Region". www.crowdpac.com.
11. Moule, Jeremy (March 28, 2018). "Wilt launches House bid, picks up progressive group's endorsement". Rochester City Newspaper. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
12. Cleveland, Will (April 4, 2018). "Rachel Barnhart secures signatures for congressional primary to run for Slaughter's seat". Democrat & Chronicle. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
13. "Rachel Barnhart to announce bid for 25th Congressional District seat". WHAM. April 17, 2018. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
14. Campbell, Joe; Orr, Steve (March 16, 2018). "Rep. Louise Slaughter: How will her successor be chosen?". Democrat & Chronicle. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
15. Vielkind, Jimmy; Mahoney, Bill (March 16, 2018). "As Rochester mourns Louise Slaughter, a 'scramble' looms to succeed her". Politico. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
16. "Log In or Sign Up to View". www.facebook.com.
17. "Monroe County Board of Elections Canvassing Book 2018" (PDF). Retrieved June 23, 2019.
18. Gorbman, Randy. "Rochester neurosurgeon announces Congressional bid".
19. Gorbman, Randy (March 24, 2018). "Sen. Joe Robach says he won't run for the Congressional seat held by Louise Slaughter". WXXI. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
20. https://www.nytimes.com/elections/results/new-york-house-district-25

External links

Official campaign websites

• Joe Morelle (D) for Congress
• Jim Maxwell (R) for Congress