Kathy Hochul sees special election for GOP ex-Rep. Tom Reed’s seat

Gov. Kathy Hochul is expected to announce a special election in the coming days to replace former Republican Rep. Tom Reed (R-Southern Tier) after he formalized his resignation with the state on Wednesday.

“Governor Hochul will follow the process established by law and issue a proclamation calling a special election to coincide with the recently scheduled election date of August 23,” a Hochul spokesman said in an email.

The upcoming vote in Congressional District 23 comes on the same day as the primary elections for the Congress and State Senate, as well as another special election to fill a Hudson Valley seat held by newly sworn Lt. gov. Antonio Delgado has become vacant.

Consolidating the various elections will save taxpayers millions of dollars.

State law requires a governor to announce a date for a special election within 10 days of the state officially learning of a vacancy in Congress. An election must then take place 70 to 80 days later.

Reed now works in the private sector, having left Congress on May 10 after facing misconduct allegations that helped quash a purported candidacy for governor.

He expressed his frustration Wednesday morning – in one Email reported by Spectrum News – on the two-week delay in announcing a special election in his old district.

“I’m at a loss as to why our compliance with federal and state laws regarding my recent resignation from Congress has met with such opposition from the proper authorities in Albany,” Reed said in the email.

The Hochul administration said a May 10 letter from Reed — a longtime member of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus in the House of Representatives — to the governor does not qualify as an official notice to the New York State Department required under the state’s public servants law is.

“Tom Reed has a little work to do … We’ve been trying tirelessly, and indeed the Republican Party has been trying to reach him to get this done legally so it can stand up in court,” Hochul said Wednesday, pressured by the Post for that Hang up when a special election is announced.

The State Department confirmed hours later that it had received the necessary documentation.

Democrat Max Della Pia and Republican Joseph Sempolinski have already announced they will run in the special election for the Republican district, which Reed won by a margin of 16 points in 2020.

Sempolinski recently told Spectrum that he will only serve out the remainder of Reed’s term if he is elected.

Rep. Chris Jacobs (R-Western NY) of the neighboring 27th District has announced plans to campaign for a newly drawn district in the Southern Tier this November.