Some voters in New York’s 23rd Congressional District will vote in two congressional races on August 23.
The race between Nick Langworthy and Carl Paladino for the Republican nomination for the new NY-23 has been well publicized. The winner of that primary will face Democrat Max Della Pia in the November general election.
The other race is a special election for current NY-23. The winner will end the term of former U.S. Rep. Tom Reed, who left office in May to work for a PR firm’s lobbying group.
There are two candidates for the chance to finish Reed’s term, which runs until December 31. —Republican Joe Sempolinski and, again, Democrat Max Della Pia.
The two joined Capital Tonight to discuss why they’ve decided to run.
Della Pia, chairwoman of the Tioga County Democratic Committee, is a decorated veteran and retired Air Force colonel, as well as an attorney. He has an impressive resume that includes command of the 109th Airlift Wing out of Glenville and membership in the National Ski Patrol. When asked why he wants to get into electoral politics, he said he feels compelled to run.
“I’m very concerned about our democracy and the trajectory it’s on and I feel compelled to run to improve it, to change that trajectory,” Della Pia told Capital Tonight. “For me, we need to start talking to each other.”
In 2018, Della Pia ran in the Democratic primary for NY-23, losing to Tracy Mitrano.
Della Pia recently said The Olean Times Herald who is concerned about rural health.
“I think there are ways to encourage health professionals to move to rural areas. I think once they do, they discover what a beautiful rural New York place it is. But it’s a real problem, because most graduates of medical programs are attracted to cities, frankly because that’s where the money is,” said Della Pia.
Della Pia is a supporter of single-payer health care, though she says there are many ways to get there. For example, he is not a fan of socialized medicine or any plan where the government hires all the doctors and runs all the hospitals. Instead, it supports a system that has less bureaucracy than the current one.
“For every $3 in health insurance, $1 is spent on administration,” Della Pia said. “We should be putting that money toward people who need care.”
Sempolinski, the Steuben County Republican chairman, previously served as former Rep. Tom Reed’s campaign manager and then district director, which is kind of like being New York State’s congressional chief of staff by Reed.
He told Capital Tonight that there are three things he could deliver to the people of the 23rd Congressional District in the four months he could be elected to serve.
“Humbledly, there is no one who knows the old version of 23 better than I do,” Sempolinski said. “So I can get the constituent service side of things up and running faster, better and more efficiently than anyone else.”
Second, Sempolinski noted that for most of what will be a four-month term (if he wins), Congress will be in session and his vote will be especially important.
Seconds Cook Political Report Partisan Voting IndexNew York’s 23rd Congressional District is a “Republican +6 district,” meaning it is a solidly Republican district within the blue boundaries of New York State.
