Republican Rep. John Katko Prevails in New York’s 24th District
Freshman congressman had been considered vulnerable
Republican Rep. John Katko successfully defended his seat in New York’s 24th District, The Associated Press projects.
Katko led Democrat Colleen Deacon 62 percent to 38 percent with 55 percent of precincts reporting.
Sitting in a district that President Barack Obama twice carried by double digits, the freshman congressman had been considered one of the most vulnerable Republicans. But in October he fell out of Roll Call’s list of the 10 most vulnerable incumbents.
He succeeded at distancing himself from the top of the GOP ticket and was on track to over-perform the top of his ticket by double-digits.
New York’s 24th District is predominantly rural. It includes all of Onondaga County — including the city of Syracuse, its economic engine — and Cayuga County, all of Wayne County and the easternmost suburbs of Rochester. Western portions of Oswego County are to the north.
In 2014, Katko, a former federal prosecutor, ousted former Democratic Rep. Dan Maffei by 19 percentage points. Deacon is a former New York-based aide to Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand.
Coming into Election Day, the Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report/Roll Call rated the race Republican Favored.
Contact Rahman at remarahman@cqrollcall.com or follow her on Twitter at @remawriter
