Kennedy eager to take on Washington following Tuesday's win in NY-26 special election

Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - It was a resounding victory for Democrat Tim Kennedy in the special election on Tuesday night for New York's 26th Congressional district seat in Washington, D.C.

It didn't take long for Kennedy to be declared the winner of the special election over Republican challenger Gary Dickson, as outlets like the New York Times and the Associated Press called NY-26 in favor of the State Senator a little more than 15 minutes after the polls had closed.

According to the Associated Press late Tuesday night, Kennedy had 68.2% of the vote with 94.2% of the votes being counted across the district representing the Buffalo-Niagara region.

Now the Congressman-elect is setting his sights on getting to the nation's capital and working to change Congress for the better.

"I'm just so honored to have the support of the people of Western New York and the Buffalo-Niagara region in the 26th Congressional district. I'm humbled by the turnout and the magnitude of that support, and I'm going to do everything in my power to continue to earn that support each and every day," said Kennedy on Tuesday. "I'm ready to go to Washington. I've never felt so prepared to do anything in my entire life, and to go to work and deliver for our community, and to lead and to build partnerships to make sure that we're representing our community as the people of this amazing region deserve."

Kennedy takes over the seat previously occupied in Washington by longtime Congressman Brian Higgins, who formally resigned from office in February to become the new President and CEO of Shea's Performing Arts Centre.

Upon Higgins' departure from Congress, he spoke of the ongoing dysfunction in Washington, and that it was not the same institution he went to serve 19 years ago. Higgins felt things may get better with time, but predicted politics is at the beginning of a rough patch, not the end.

Kennedy feels with the public's concern about the dysfunction in Washington, it's a huge reason why he chose to run in the NY-26 special election.

"We're going there to fix it, to change it. To make a difference, and to make sure that our government down in Washington is reflected of the people of this great country," he said. "The people of this country deserve better than what the MAGA Republican, extreme leadership in Congress is delivering for today. That's why this message sent today, out of the 26th Congressional here in Western New York, wasn't just a message out of our community. It was a message for America, that people know they deserve better than what they're getting right now down in Congress, and they're demanding it."

The Congressman-elect goes on to add he believes this special election is reflective of what's going to happen this coming November with the upcoming Presidential election.

"People want change. I believe they want Democrats to take the helm. They want new leadership, and Hakeem Jeffries as the new Speaker of the House would be a magnificent, historic moment this November when we make him the first Black Speaker of the House in the United States' history. I'm excited to go down and be a part of it, but at the same time, in the meantime, deliver in whatever capacity I have to do until we take the majority in November," Kennedy said.

Kennedy feels in his position, you can't take anything for granted, especially in a special election. Even with his district being a heavily Democratic majority, he felt it was still necessary to do his part and reach out to the people he wished to represent ahead of Tuesday's election.

"I think this was as much of an election on April 30 today, as it was an education about who I am to the people that I will be representing. There's a large swath of the area that did not know me, and we had to remind them of who I am, what I've been doing in my time in government, how I've been delivering for the great people of our region already, and what I'm gonna do down in Washington," Kennedy noted.

"I know how to build relationships, I know how to get things done, I've delivered for our community over the last 20 years in office on a local level and then at the state level, and now I'm ready to do it at the federal level. And building relationships and bringing good people together, and finding solutions to vexing problems is what I've done my whole life as a health care practitioner, and it's what I've done as a public servant. So I'm ready to serve the public in the new capacity as United States Congressman, and I'm forever grateful for the people of this amazing community for entrusting me in this moment to go and deliver for this amazing region that I love so much."

Kennedy believes he will be sworn in to his new role in Washington within the next week or two, but adds he'll leave that up to the leadership in the nation's capital to sort out.

From here, Kennedy will serve in Congress for the rest of the year, and will be on the ballot for the general election in November, where he'll face Republican attorney Anthony Marecki.

As for the June Democratic primary for NY-26, former Grand Island Town Supervisor Nate McMurray, who planned to challenge Kennedy, announced via social media that elections officials had removed him from the ballot because of insufficient signatures.

Kennedy was at the forefront of that fight against McMurray, having sued McMurray and claiming that a large number of the signatures needed to run in the primary were invalid. Despite the news of McMurray not being on the ballot for the June primary, Kennedy wanted to stay in the moment and celebration with the people of Western New York.

"They've delivered on this resounding message that they want change. They want someone that's gonna go fight for freedom and democracy, not only here in this great country, but across the globe," Kennedy said. "Somebody that's going to stand up for freedoms that we hold near-and-dear to our heart: A woman's right to choose, health care, protecting Social Security and Medicare, and making sure that our children have an opportunity to succeed in our community by growing jobs and strengthening our economy. I'm looking forward to doing that in the United States Congress."

As for the November general election for NY-26, he feels Tuesday's resounding victory in the special election was one of the people, and that will be very much the same when it comes time to run for his first full term in Washington.

"It was more about what we bring to the table in delivering real results for the people of this great community that we call home. That's what people have come to expect under the incredible leadership of Congressman Brian Higgins," Higgins added. "I'm humbled to be able to follow in his footsteps, they're clearly big shoes to fill. And he knows, and the people here know that I have what it takes to go be the very best that I can be to deliver for our community, fight hard each and every day. I'm a workhorse that knows what right is, and knows how to deliver. So we're going to take that message down to Washington."