The New York-26 Special Election took place on Tuesday, April 30, 2024.
A number of upcoming special elections for the US House prior to the November elections will feature Republican-held seats. However, NY-26 was a Democratic seat.
NY-26 Special Election Results
Tim Kennedy (D) won the special election for NY-26, defeating Gary Dickson (R).
Kennedy carried both the very Democratic Erie County portion of the district, as well as the much redder Niagara County segment.
New York-26 Special Election: District Profile
Please note: the following was written prior to the special election.
The 26th District in New York is anchored by Buffalo, Niagara Falls, and surrounding areas along the Canadian border, touching both Lakes Erie and Ontario. Since being drawn for the 2022 election, this district – as its predecessors have – has a strong Democratic lean.
The previous iteration of NY-26 was even more Buffalo-centric. In the 2024 general election, thanks to recent redistricting, there will be yet another district map, and the new 26th District will return to be focused on Buffalo and Niagara Falls, cutting out some redder towns on the shores of Lake Ontario.
2022 Election Results: NY-26
Rep. Brian Higgins (D-Buffalo) was first elected in 2004, and was elected to ten terms in the US House before resigning in February 2024. Higgins stepped down early (he was not seeking re-election in 2024) out of growing irritation with the lack of functioning of Congress in recent years. He is now the President and CEO of Shea’s Performing Arts Center in Buffalo.
Higgins was re-elected in the 2022 midterm elections with about 64 percent of the vote. 63.9 percent was the lowest vote share he received in any previous iteration of the district since 2010, when he got 60.9 percent.
New York-26 Special Election Candidates
Information furnished by New York State Board of Elections
TIM KENNEDY (D/WF-Buffalo): Kennedy is the state senator for SD-63 in Buffalo, which includes much of downtown, as well as Cheektowaga and Lackawanna. He was first elected to the Senate in 2010 and is also a Democratic candidate for the 2024 election in this seat.
GARY DICKSON (R/C-West Seneca): Dickson is the town supervisor of West Seneca, NY in Erie County, a town that neighbors Buffalo. According to his biography, he was first elected in 2019 to his position and re-elected in 2023. Dickson is not a registered candidate in the 2024 primary election; as the filing date has passed, if elected, Dickson would only serve until January.
Election Outlook
Kennedy enters election day as a sizable favorite to win this seat. He has been around as a political figure in this district for a while, and the makeup of NY-26 is very friendly to Democrats. There are bluer seats in New York, but this is certainly blue enough. Buffalo has not had a GOP member of Congress since Jack Quinn, the predecessor of Higgins, retired almost 20 years ago.
Dickson appears to have had some electoral success in this area, but given the partisan lean of NY-26, it seems like a tall order for the GOP.
