The race for New York's 23rd Congressional District is taking shape with crime, abortion and the cost of living taking center stage in the faceoff between Democrat Max Della Pia and Republican Nick Langworthy.
The redesigned district stretches from Chemung County in the Southern Tier to the suburbs of Erie County in Western New York.
Della Pia will be a familiar name for some voters of the district as he was the Democratic nominee for the special election against Republican Joe Sempolinski to fill the remainder of former Rep. Tom Reed’s unexpired term. Della Pia put up a strong showing in the low turnout special election in August, winning 46.6% of the vote in the Republican leaning district. State Republican Party Chairman Nick Langworthy emerged from a contentious primary against 2010 gubernatorial nominee Carl Paladino that same night.
The midterm elections have been shaken up by the recent overturning of abortion rights in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case. On abortion, the two candidates have differentiating views. Langworthy said he is “looking forward to reviewing” legislation that would create a nationwide standard and touts his endorsements from anti-abortion advocates. Della Pia said he “will do everything I can to make sure that the government doesn’t get between a woman and her doctor and her decisions for her family and her reproductive rights.”
One of the major issues in this election cycle has been the nationwide uptick in crime. Langworthy said that on the state level, the reforms to bail and discovery laws have crippled law enforcement in the state. Langworthy said there may need to be federal action if more states go down the path that New York has done. Della Pia argues that crime rates have gone down in the last four decades and that the political talking points on crime have made people concerned about the issue but more needs to be done to bring people together.
Both candidates agree that more needs to be done to assert American energy independence to help lower energy costs for Americans. Langworthy argues the “environmental left” needs to stop blocking fracking in the Empire State so more energy and jobs can be produced here in the country. Della Pia said more needs to be done to push oil and gas companies to expand production.
One of the first votes that either candidate will need to take, if elected, is who will be their conference’s leader. Nancy Pelosi has been the leader of the Democratic caucus in the House of Representatives for nearly two decades. Della Pia told Capital Tonight that Pelosi will have to make a personal decision on whether to run again but would not speculate on who he would support if she did not run. On the other side, Langworthy said he will back current Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to be speaker if the Republicans retake the chamber.
Here in New York, Langworthy plans to step down from his current role as chair of the state Republican Party if he is elected to Congress. Langworthy said that a potential Gov. Lee Zeldin will have a “large role” in selecting a new chair and shaping the party but did not give any names as to who could succeed him as chair.