Republican congressional staffer Joe Sempolinski is the apparent winner of a special election Tuesday for New York’s 23rd Congressional District, enabling him to serve out the final months in the unexpired term of his old boss, former Rep. Tom Reed (R-N.Y.).
According to press reports, Sempolinski captured roughly 52% of the vote against Democrat Max Della Pia in the special election for the district, which includes the West Valley Demonstration Project. West Valley is a state-owned nuclear property being cleaned up by the Department of Energy.
The Associated Press declared Sempolinski the winner of the special election around midnight, the Elmira Star-Gazette reported Wednesday. Sempolinski is a lawyer and served as lead staffer for Reed, who resigned in May to take a job with a lobbying firm. Reed, who spearheaded a successful West Valley reauthorization bill, announced in 2021 he would not seek re-election after being accused of sexual misconduct.
Ironically Della Pia, who lost the special election, will be his party’s nominee in November for a full two-year term – but Sempolinski will not. Sempolinski was not a candidate in Tuesday’s Republican primary won by Erie County Republican Party chair Nicholas Langworthy. Langworthy narrowly defeated businessman Carl Paladino who conceded Wednesday, the Buffalo News reported.
Congressional redistricting of the 23rd district figured into Sempolinski’s decision not to run in the primary, Roll Call reported Wednesday.
