WASHINGTON _ Democrat Anthony Brindisi has defeated first-term Rep. Claudia Tenney in New York's 22nd District, The Associated Press has projected, leaving just two more races from the midterm elections in the balance.
Brindisi won the final vote tally by roughly 4,000 out of nearly 150,000 cast.
Tenney admitted last week that she did not see a path to victory with less than 2,000 absentee ballots left to count. But she did not want to concede to Brindisi until officials had counted the final vote.
"As the votes have been counted the last several weeks, it has become clear that while we remain on the right side of the issues and history, we came out on the wrong side of a very close race," Tenney said in a statement Wednesday. "I wish Congressman-elect Anthony Brindisi the best and my office will work with him to ensure a smooth transition and good constituent services for the people of the 22nd District."
Brindisi is one of three Democratic challengers in New York to successfully flip a House seat. Rep.-elect Antonio Delgado defeated Rep. John Faso in the 19th District, and Rep.-elect Max Rose topped Rep. Dan Donovan in the 11th District, which includes Staten Island.
Another Democratic challenger appears likely to fall just short of adding a fourth New York Republican loss to the pile. Democrat Nate McMurray conceded Tuesday to GOP Rep. Chris Collins, who was re-elected to a fourth term in the 27th District despite being indicted in August on insider trading charges.
The AP has not yet called that race for Collins, though his lead on McMurray is virtually insurmountable with the final trickle of absentee ballots left to count.
The only other race that remains uncalled by the AP is for California's 21st District, where Democratic challenger T.J. Cox inched ahead of GOP Rep. David Valadao last week and now sits on a 506-vote lead.
A Cox victory would give the Democrats a net gain of 40 seats nationwide, including seven in California.
Cox issued a statement declaring victory Wednesday and thanking his family and staff for helping him run a successful campaign.
"This campaign was fueled by their energy and passion to make a positive difference in lives of the hard-working people here in the Central Valley," he said.
Cox also thanked Valadao and his family for "their six years of service to our country and the communities of the 21st District."
