GOP Rep. John Katko beats Democrat Dana Balter in their rematch for New York's 24th District

• Rep. John Katko has defeated the Democrat Dana Belter in their contest for New York's 24th Congressional District, according to Decision Desk HQ.
• Balter, who lost to Katko by 5 points in 2018, was endorsed in August by the top of the Democratic presidential ticket, Joe Biden.
• Katko was one of just three Republican House representatives defending districts won by Hillary Clinton in 2016.
• See the live coverage and full results from all US House elections.

Republican Rep. John Katko has defeated the Democrat Dana Balter in their rematch for New York's 24th Congressional District, according to Decision Desk HQ.

The candidates

Katko, a former federal prosecutor and US attorney in Syracuse, was first elected to New York's 24th District in the 2014 Republican wave, defeating Democratic Rep. Dan Maffei.

In Congress, Katko serves on the House Homeland Security and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and is a member of the Republican Main Street Partnership and the Tuesday Group, both coalitions of business-friendly Republicans in the House.

Katko has voted with President Donald Trump 75% of the time, according to FiveThirtyEight, recently breaking with Trump to vote with Democrats on a bill to provide $25 billion to the US Postal Service.

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Katko occupied a unique position as one of just three House representatives running for reelection in a congressional district that was won by Hillary Clinton in 2016, along with Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Rep. Mike Garcia of California. Rep. Will Hurd of Texas, who represents a fourth Republican-held Clinton district, is retiring.

Balter is a former disability-services professional and professor at Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. Her campaign platform emphasized expanding healthcare coverage to all, building a fair economy, and reducing corporate influence and corruption in politics.

Balter was endorsed in August by the top of the Democratic presidential ticket, Joe Biden.

In the 2018 election, Katko defeated Balter by a margin of 5.2 percentage points, 52.6% to 47.4%. Recent polls indicated a close race in 2020, with a Siena College survey conducted October 20-22 finding the candidates tied at 45% each.

The district

New York's 24th District, located in Western New York, includes Syracuse and Oswego and part of Wayne County outside Rochester, encompassing part of the shoreline of Lake Ontario.

The district voted for President Barack Obama by a margin of 16 points in 2012 and voted for Clinton by a margin of 3.6 percentage points in 2016, according to the Daily Kos.

The money race

Katko raised about $3.5 million, spent over $2.7 million, and had about $891,000 in cash on hand, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, while Balter raised over $2.7 million, spent $2.6 million, and had over $119,000 in cash on hand.

What some of the experts say

The race between Katko and Balter was rated as a "tossup" by the Cook Political Report, "tilts Republican" by Inside Elections, and "leans Republican" by Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics.