The battle for control of Congress wasn’t decided as of midday Wednesday, but there were some interesting results in races around the country.
Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, D-N.Y., chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee — the organization charged with helping elect Democrats to the House — lost his reelection in the state’s 17th Congressional District, which is just up the river from New York City. Maloney conceded the election to Republican Mike Lawler in what was the first loss of a sitting House campaign committee chair since 1992.
Lawler surged late in the polls in the weeks leading up to the midterm elections. The DCCC gave its chairman over half a million dollars to fund ads defending Maloney in the Hudson Valley, but it wasn’t enough. Lawler won the race by less than 1% of the vote.
“I don’t like to lose but my opponent won this race,” Maloney said at a press conference Tuesday night. “I’m not going to whine about it. I’m going to do this the right way, and the right thing to do is to say, ’The other guy won,’ to wish him well and to pledge my support and that’s what I’m doing,” he added.
Another unexpectedly close race is the Colorado 3rd Congressional District where Republican freshman Rep. Lauren Boebert is trailing by a few thousand votes with 93% of results reported. Democratic nominee Adam Frisch is a former Aspen City councilman who campaigned as a moderate in the western Colorado district.
Boebert made a name for herself in Congress as an outspoken supporter of former President Donald Trump. Her district, which encircles Grand Junction and Pueblo, has backed Republicans for more than two decades. No major polling firms surveyed the race, according to The Wall Street Journal, signaling that few political observers were expecting an upset.
Alaska’s ranked choice voting election system appears to have reelected Democratic Rep. Mary Peltoa over former Republican vice presidential nominee and Gov. Sarah Palin. Peltoa won the special election race in August and she seems to have gained even more support during Tuesday’s general election race.
The Democrat had 47% of first-choice votes with nearly all 402 precincts reporting. Palin and fellow Republican Nick Begich had 27% and 24%, respectively. Ranked choice voting totals aren’t final until a candidate earns more than 50% of the vote. Peltoa is the favorite to win after second preferences are counted from Begich voters. A similar outcome played out in the special election where Peltoa won 51.5% of votes to Palin’s 48.5%.
“Every batch of votes that comes in — I’m going to be celebrating,” Peltoa told a crowd of supporters Tuesday night. “I think people are excited to have somebody in electoral politics that isn’t interested in tearing anybody down. I think that’s been an exciting message.”