Congressman Joe Morelle (D) of New York’s 25th Congressional District handily won a fourth term in office, defeating Republican candidate Gregg Sadwick in a landslide.
Morelle won 60.4% of the votes, with his opponent garnering 39.6%, according to unofficial results from the Monroe County Board of Elections.
Morelle ran on proposals like the implementation of a constitutional amendment that would overturn the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that former presidents have broad immunity from prosecution.
The Congressman has been politically active since 1991 when he was first elected to the State’s assembly. His first two campaigns ended in landslide victories against then Republican candidates James Maxwell (2018) and George Mitris (2020), winning on average by a margin of 19%.
New York’s 25th district has been redrawn three times in the past four years, with each map drawn favoring the incumbent Democrat. The territory covered by the district includes nearly 500,000 voters, with nearly 40% of them registered Democrats and just shy of 25% registered Republicans, according to party enrollment data.
Morelle, the Democratic incumbent since 2018, raised a total of $2,005,787 while Sadwick raised $642,720, $385,000 of which he spent on advertising for his campaign, according to their finance reports to the Federal Election Commission.
A local business owner, Sadwick faced an uphill battle from the start. Morelle’s popularity, his own fundraising problems, and issues at home put him at a disadvantage, with Sadwick finalizing his divorce two months before Election Day.
In an interview with the Campus Times, Sadwick revealed that he is a big fan of Donald Trump’s spending cuts, especially with the initiative to lower taxes. Prior to the election, Sadwick also explained in the interview that if he were to win, he would help the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and local police departments coordinate to crack down on undocumented immigrants in the area.
“I am a firm believer that if they don’t belong here, we need to start sending people home,” Sadwick said. “If they have committed crimes, they have got to go.”
Despite his projected victory, Morelle was not in attendance at the Democratic watch party at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Rochester Tuesday night.
The Campus Times reached out to Morelle’s campaign, but received no comment.
In a post election interview with WXXI News, Morelle explained that he has “great confidence in the electoral system and democratic process,” quipping that “for the [Buffalo] Bills fans in the room, ‘trust the processes.’”
During the minute and a half long speech, Morelle also highlighted his laundry list of platforms he supports. “We also believe every person deserves a fair shot at success,” he said. “We can make that possible by investing in affordable healthcare, childcare, housing, and lowering prescription drug prices.”
