Joseph Sempolinski

Rural Republican counties were the difference in both New York state Congressional District races on Tuesday.

In the special election, Joe Sempolinski defeated Max Della Pia to win a four-month seat to fill the remaining term of Tom Reed, who resigned in May. In addition, Nick Langworthy won the high-profile contest for the November Republican primary by defeating controversial candidate Carl Paladino.

“It is the honor of a lifetime to be selected by my friends and neighbors to speak for them on the floor of the US House of Representatives” Sempolinski stated. “I intend to spend my time in Congress fighting for the people that have given me everything in my life. I will work to make sure that the voice of the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes is heard throughout the remainder of this Congressional term. One of the chief things that makes our nation great is that we are governed by representatives chosen by and from among the people. To be selected as one of those representatives, even for a few months, is a sacred duty.”

Della Pia remains the endorsed Democratic candidate for the November election. He will face off against Langworthy, whose win was bolstered by the Southern Tier as Paladino won Erie County.

Paladino, who unsuccessfully ran for governor in 2010, has a long history of inflammatory and offensive remarks, including recent comments that praised Adolf Hitler and circulated conspiracy theories around mass shootings.

The heated primary came as Langworthy and Paladino sought to replace GOP Rep. Chris Jacobs, who decided not to seek reelection after facing backlash from his own party for voicing support for an assault weapons ban following a racist mass shooting in his hometown of Buffalo in May.

Sempolinski expressed thanks to all who voted in the election, volunteered for the campaign and supported him throughout this entire process, especially his family. He will be sworn in as soon as possible to be the Congressman from New York’s 23rd Congressional District.

“I am looking forward to hitting the ground running and making sure constituent services are back up and working” Sempolinski added. “We have no time to waste.”