By Ashley M. Casey and Hayleigh Gowans
Staff Writers
Republican incumbent Rep. John Katko beat out Democratic challenger Colleen Deacon for the 24th Congressional District. Voters cast 108,774 ballots for Katko, while Deacon received 79,520 votes.
“I have been overwhelmed from the beginning over the amount of support I’ve gotten,” said Katko at the Sheraton Hotel in Syracuse on election night. “I don’t represent just Republicans, I don’t represent just Democrats. I’m going to continue the work I started in Washington. I’m just getting warmed up.”
At the Onondaga County Democratic Committee gathering at the Marriott Syracuse Downtown, formerly the Hotel Syracuse, Deacon congratulated Katko on his victory and thanked her campaign staff, her family and her supporters.
“Despite our differences in policy and ideas, I know he loves Central New York and I encouraged him to fight for the issues that matter most to us when he gets back to Washington and truly bring this region the attention that it needs,” Deacon said. “While the results were not what we were hoping for this evening in the 24th District, we have so much to be proud of.”
Katko, a former federal prosecutor who hails from Camillus, was first elected to Congress in 2014. As a freshman representative, 15 of Katko’s bills passed the House of Representatives and six became laws.
He has served on the House Homeland Security Committee and the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and he has chaired the Transportation Security subcommittee.
Deacon, who has lived on the east side of Syracuse for most of her life, served as regional director for Central New York in the office of U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.). Previously, she worked as press secretary in the city of Syracuse.
“This isn’t the last we’re going to see of her,” Onondaga County Democratic Committee Chair Mark English said of Deacon.
