Results: Democratic Rep. Pat Ryan defeats Republican state Rep. Colin Schmitt in New York's 18th Congressional District election

• Democrat Pat Ryan defeated Republican state Rep. Colin Schmitt in New York's 18th Congressional District.
• The 18th District is located in the Hudson Valley.

Democratic Rep. Pat Ryan secured a full term in Congress, defeating Republican state Rep. Colin Schmitt in New York's 18th Congressional District.

Polls closed in the state at 9 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

Thanks to New York's topsy-turvy redistricting process, incumbent Democrat Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney ran for re-election in the 17th Congressional District. Maloney was narrowly defeated by Republican Michael Lawler, 49.5% to 50.5%.

New York's 18th Congressional District candidates

Ryan is the former county executive of Ulster County in New York. He was first elected in a special election in May 2019, and then reelected to a full term the following November.

In August, Ryan defeated Republican Marc Molinaro in the special election for New York's 19th Congressional District, where he's serving the rest of former Rep. Antonio Delgado's term, which ends in January 2023. Delgado resigned in May after New York Gov. Kathy Hochul named him New York's lieutenant governor.

In August, Ryan told Insider that a series of Supreme Court decisions overturning Roe v. Wade and invalidating a New York gun restriction law "cleared the fog and woke people up."

In addition to winning the special election in the 19th, Ryan handily defeated his Democratic primary opponents in New York's 18th Congressional District, bringing in over 80% of the vote. If he defeats Schmitt come November, Ryan will transition immediately from serving the old 19th District to a full term in Congress representing the 18th District.

Schmitt, Ryan's challenger, is a member of the New York State Assembly serving the 99th District. Prior to running for Congress, Schmitt worked as an aide for then-Assemblywoman Ann Rabbitt, becoming the youngest aide ever hired by the New York State Assembly. After college, he joined the staff of former state Sen. Greg Ball, and then went on to serve as chief of staff for the town of New Windsor.

The 32-year-old politician advanced from the Republican primary after the election was canceled.

Voting history for New York's 18th Congressional District

New York's 18th Congressional District is located in the Hudson Valley and encompasses the cities of Newburgh, Poughkeepsie, and Kingston.

President Joe Biden had a 5 percentage point margin of victory under the district's previous boundaries in 2020 before it was redrawn to shift north and take in Poughkeepsie in redistricting following the 2020 Census, making it slightly more Democratic.

The money race

According to OpenSecrets, Ryan raised $4 million, spent $3.3 million, and had $729,971 on hand, as of October 19. His opponent, Schmitt, raised $1.9 million, spent $1.5 million, and had $387,171 cash on hand, as of October 19.

Through early November, super PACs, national party committees, and other non-candidate groups had spent more than $11 million to advocate for or against the candidates.

What experts say

The race between Ryan and Schmitt was rated as "tilt Democratic" by Inside Elections, "lean Democratic" by The Cook Political Report, and "leans Democratic" by Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics.