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After two days and over 260,000 votes accounted for, the race for New York’s 22nd Congressional District between Democrat Francis Conole and Brandon Williams is still too close to call for many outlets.

Heading into Thursday, neither the Associated Press, Decision Desk HQ nor Fox News’ decision desks have called the election. Yet Williams, who currently has a lead of over 3,000 votes, declared victory.

At around 2 a.m. Wednesday, Williams said “we’re going to Washington, D.C.,” according to CNY Central, and later changed his twitter account’s biography to read “Congressman-elect for NY-22.”

Within the same hour, Conole told his crowd and reporters in a press release that the race was too close to call.

“We need to ensure that every Central New Yorker’s voice is heard and their ballot is counted,” Conole said.

Texas-born Williams had 72.8% of his funding in 2022 coming from outside New York. Much of it was from his home state. In total, he raised nearly $750,000 for his campaign as of Oct. 19, according to OpenSecrets.

Through September and October, the polls bounced between Conole and Williams leading, with Siena College reporting the largest margin of victory on Sept. 27. In the poll, Williams only led by 5 points. Siena College reported a month later that Conole was up by 4 points.

Williams ran on the platform of “not being a politician.” The tech entrepreneur and Navy veteran not only opposed abortion rights, but was a proponent of stricter mandatory sentences for violent crime and opposed cashless bail.

Williams ran for the Republican nomination on the conservative line. His primary opponent, Steven Wells, earned the support of the local Republican party.

Following Williams’ primary victory in August, he told supporters that it was the start of “change” coming to the United States, syracuse.com reported.

“We’re going to get this ship pointed in the right direction,” he said. “Our nation is under attack by the radical left.”

Williams has also said he aims to support Democratic-led Congressional efforts in requiring background checks for gun purchases.

One of the two candidates will succeed current Republican Congressman John Katko, who has not backed either Williams or Conole.

A central New York native and navy veteran, Conole ran a moderate campaign, receiving endorsements from Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh, The Syracuse Post-Standard and an assortment of unions including the New York State United Teachers and the local branches of Communication Workers of America and Service Employees International Union.

“Fran has shown (an) ability to bring people together, find common ground and solve problems,” Walsh wrote in his endorsement of Conole. “As Central New York becomes a stronger force in the New Economy and as our nation grapples with political extremism, these skills are needed now more than ever.”

Throughout 2022, Conole’s campaign raised $2.6 million. Around 55% of his funding came from within the state.

Despite a poor showing in NY-22’s other counties of Oneida, Madison and Oswego, Conole gathered 55.7% of the vote in Onondaga County, outperforming other Democrats like Governor Kathy Hochul, Attorney General Letitia James and State Senator Rachel May.

Few Democrats, such as Senator Chuck Schumer and State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, received a greater share of the vote in Onondaga County.

Throughout his campaign, Conole emphasized his support of reproductive rights. He said his first priority if he took office would be codifying Roe v. Wade.

“We’ve seen the effects of people continuing to fall behind, and now we’re seeing freedoms ripped away from Americans,” he told The D.O. in September. “Women across the country are going to have less rights than their mothers.”

Now, Conole said the Board of Elections in the district’s four counties are working to finish counting ballots.

“This is a fundamental part of democracy, and we look forward to it being carried out in the coming days,” Conole wrote.

Published on November 10, 2022 at 1:30 am

Contact Kyle: kschouin@syr.edu | @Kyle_Chouinard