Politics

Republican congresswoman Ann Marie Buerkle stepped out of the federal office building in downtown Syracuse this afternoon, gave county party chair Tom Dadey a hug, and conceded the race for New York's 24th Congressional District to Democrat Dan Maffei.

The New York State Thruway Authority has scheduled a board meeting for Friday afternoon.  There is no public agenda yet, but it is believed that the board will consider a 45 percent increase in truck tolls.

Anti-fracking sentiment in the Southern Tier was felt at the polls when candidates opposed to drilling were beaten up and down the ballot Tuesday.

The vast majority of incumbent state legislators were re-elected Tuesday night, upholding a decades-long Albany tradition.

In a statement released Tuesday morning, Congresswoman Ann Marie Buerkle indicated she is still not conceding her race to represent central New York's 24th congressional district, despite trailing by about 4 percent to Democrat Dan Maffei.

Democrats appear to have taken over the State Senate, by a narrow margin. Some races were still being tallied, and others may be headed to a recount.

Democrat Al Stirpe is once again a New York State Assemblyman after defeating Republican Don Miller for a seat that was once Stirpe's.

Democrat Bill Owens survived one of the most costly and bitter political campaigns in North Country history last night. He defeated Republican businessman Matt Doheny by about 4,000 votes.

Incumbent Republican state Senator Patty Ritchie easily won reelection in the 48th district, covering Jefferson, Oswego and St. Lawrence counties. She beat Democrat Amy Tresidder by a more than two-to-one margin. Now, Ritchie looks ahead to tackling the economic issues facing the state.  

The candidates in the 24th congressional district contest were prepared for the race to go down to the wire, since polls predicted that democrat Dan Maffei and Ann Marie Buerkle were locked in a statistical tie, with Green Party candidate Ursula Rozum trailing behind. But it looks like former Congressman Maffei will be returning to Washington to represent central New York in Congress.

We have compiled the latest on results for closely contested area campaigns. This page offers returns for the candidates competing for the 21st, 22nd, and 24th Congressional District seats, the 48th state senate seat and the 127th Assembly seat.

Last updated: 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, November 7