GOP candidate Buller concedes in the NY-22 race

Incumbent U.S. Rep. John Mannion, the heavy favorite in the NY-22 congressional race, defeated Republican challenger Kailee Buller.

The results were called at 9:55 p.m. by the AP News. With more than 95% of votes in, Mannion won with 153,511 votes and Buller with 111,261.

After the defeat, Buller addressed the attendees of the Onondaga County Republican watch party at the Embassy Suites near Destiny USA in Syracuse, New York. While admitting disappointment, she expressed excitement for the future of her party, calling this election cycle a “transition period.”

Buller, a relatively new face in central New York politics, ran a campaign on affordability but was unable to separate herself from the economic challenges that have plagued the second Trump presidency. 

The former chief of staff to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture focused her campaign on goals of creating new jobs and lowering costs at the grocery store and gas pump, while Mannion promised to continue the fight to check the White House.

A collective groan could be heard around the room as Buller took the stage to announce that she’d conceded the race. In her opening remarks, she alleged that Mannion had hung up on her when she tried to reach him. She called the moment “disgusting.” 

“We gave a voice to the people who felt forgotten, people who work hard and watch their bills climb faster than their paychecks, people like my family,” Buller said during her concession speech. “Those problems didn’t go away tonight. They’re still raising our taxes, and they’re still raising our utility bills and someone has to keep fighting.”

As voters and local candidates mingled prior to results being announced on election night, many expressed concerns about affordability across the state and called for more partisanship in state-level politics.

“We live in a state that is controlled by one party, and they have very unrealistic energy policies that are just costing us a ton of money,” Mark Mangicaro, campaign manager for state senatorial candidate Rich McCarron, said. “We have a ridiculous amount of spending on Medicare that is not at all in line with our population, and that drives costs up.”

Throughout his campaign, Mannion argued for the importance of keeping the district blue in progressive efforts to combat the president’s agenda. He claimed Buller would support unpopular Trump policies, including harsh immigration enforcement and war in the Middle East. 

“The president is the president for the next two years, whether people like it or not,” Buller said during campaigning. “They don’t have to like everything he does. I support the president; he supports me, but I don’t agree with everything he does.”

Entering this cycle, President Trump has been a difficult figure to navigate for many Republican campaigns. While the MAGA base remains committed, 58% of likely voters have an unfavorable impression of the president, according to Oct. 27 data from Marist Polls. 

“Unfortunately, it’s really easy for people to focus on just one person and label that person as every candidate in that party,” Mangicaro said. “Things that people focus on at the local level, at the state level, are a lot different than what’s going on at the national level.”

Buller stepped down from Chief of Staff position in February and announced her run for Congress soon after. This election represents her first-ever bid for public office. Prior to election day, Buller said she would continue fighting for lower taxes and safer living conditions, despite the outcome of the race. 

For a self-described “moderate” candidate like Buller, she’s had to navigate maintaining the support of the extreme factions while demonstrating bipartisan enough opinions in order to gain some headway with more centrist voters. While current data is inconclusive, some have speculated that recent public events with the president may have hurt her chances. 

“I choose optimism for our future,” Buller said, prior to the race being called. “We need to work better together. There is a lot of opportunity in this area, and I have hope.”

Throughout her remarks, Buller emphasized the importance of bipartisan collaboration, particularly at the local level. Village of Fayetteville Mayor Michael Small echoed her message. Small has served in public office for over 20 years and has always run as an independent. He is a self-described republican, but said the labels are less important in local politics. 

“I believe in a good mix of candidates and a good mix of people serving the public. I think that having a few Republicans elected this time around would be nice to balance that out a little bit,” Small said.

Woodruff Carroll, the Republican candidate for the 15th district Onondaga County Legislature seat, described the results as disappointing and said his party needs to “figure out” how to draw more conservatives to the polls. 

“We have to increase our vote. Our big problem last time was voter turnout, and we have to increase it,” Carroll said. “We’ve got an early voting problem, and we’ve got to see what’s at the root of that.”

With Buller’s defeat, Mannion will return to Washington, D.C., representing NY-22 for his second term in Congress.