New York's 23rd congressional district

"NY-23" redirects here. NY-23 may also refer to New York State Route 23.

New York's 23rd congressional district
Current Representative		Bill Owens (D–Plattsburgh)
Distribution	34.79% urban, 65.21% rural
Population (2000)	654,360
Median income	$35,434
Ethnicity	93.8% White, 2.7% Black, 0.6% Asian, 2.1% Hispanic, 0.9% Native American, 0.1% other
Cook PVI	R+1

The 23rd Congressional District of New York is New York's northernmost congressional district for the United States House of Representatives. The district includes all or parts of Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lewis, Madison, Oneida, Oswego and St. Lawrence counties. It includes the cities of Ogdensburg, Oswego, Plattsburgh and Watertown. The district includes most of the Adirondack Mountains and the Thousand Islands region. It borders Canada to the north and Vermont to the east.

It is currently represented by Democrat Bill Owens of Plattsburgh.

The special election for this seat in November 2009 gained national attention when several national Republican leaders endorsed Conservative candidate Doug Hoffman over Republican nominee Dede Scozzafava. A few days before the election Scozzafava dropped out and endorsed Democrat Bill Owens, who went on to win the seat with a 48.7% plurality.

Components: past and present

1913–1919

Parts of Manhattan

1919–1969

Parts of The Bronx

1969–1971

Parts of The Bronx, Manhattan

1971–1973

Parts of The Bronx

1973–1983

Parts of The Bronx, Westchester

1983–1993

All of Albany, Schenectady

Parts of Montgomery, Rensselaer

1993–2003

All of Chenango, Madison, Oneida, Otsego

Parts of Broome, Delaware, Herkimer, Montgomery, Schoharie

2003–present

All of Clinton, Franklin, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lewis, Madison, Oswego, St. Lawrence

Parts of Essex, Fulton, Oneida

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Various New York districts have been numbered "23" over the years, including areas in New York City and various parts of upstate New York.

Representatives

1823 - 1833: one seat

Representative	Party	Years	District home	Note
District created		March 4, 1823
Elisha Litchfield	Crawford DR	March 4, 1823 – March 3, 1825	Delphi	Redistricted from the 19th district
Luther Badger	Adams	March 4, 1825 – March 3, 1827	Jamesville
Jonas Earll, Jr.	Jacksonian	March 4, 1827 – March 3, 1831	Syracuse
Freeborn G. Jewett	Jacksonian	March 4, 1831 – March 3, 1833	Skaneateles

1833 - 1843: Two seats

From 1833 to 1843, two seats were apportioned, elected at large on a general ticket.

Congress	Years	Seat A				Seat B
		Representative	Party	Electoral history		Representative	Party	Electoral history
23rd	March 4, 1833 – March 3, 1835	William K. Fuller	Jacksonian	Elected in 1832		William Taylor	Jacksonian	Elected in 1832
24th	March 4, 1835 – March 3, 1837			Re-elected in 1834 [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]				Re-elected in 1834
25th	March 4, 1837 – March 3, 1839	Bennet Bicknell	Democratic	Elected in 1836 [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]			Democratic	Re-elected in 1836 [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
26th	March 4, 1839 – March 3, 1841	Nehemiah H. Earll	Democratic	Elected in 1838 Lost re-election		Edward Rogers	Democratic	Elected in 1838 [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
27th	March 4, 1841 – March 3, 1843	Victory Birdseye	Whig	Elected in 1840 Retired		A. Lawrence Foster	Whig	Elected in 1840 [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]

1843 - present: one seat

Representative	Party	Years	District home	Note
Orville Robinson	Democratic	March 4, 1843 – March 3, 1845
William J. Hough	Democratic	March 4, 1845 – March 3, 1847
William Duer	Whig	March 4, 1847 – March 3, 1851
Leander Babcock	Democratic	March 4, 1851 – March 3, 1853
Caleb Lyon	Independent	March 4, 1853 – February 27, 1855
William A. Gilbert	Opposition	March 4, 1855 – February 27, 1857		Resigned
Vacant		February 27, 1857 – March 4, 1857
Charles B. Hoard	Republican	March 4, 1857 – March 3, 1861
Ambrose W. Clark	Republican	March 4, 1861 – March 3, 1863		Redistricted to the 20th district
Thomas Treadwell Davis	Unionist	March 4, 1863 – March 3, 1865
	Republican	March 4, 1865 – March 3, 1867
Dennis McCarthy	Republican	March 4, 1867 – March 3, 1871
R. Holland Duell	Republican	March 4, 1871 – March 3, 1873		Redistricted to the 24th district
William E. Lansing	Republican	March 4, 1873 – March 3, 1875		Redistricted from the 22nd district
Scott Lord	Democratic	March 4, 1875 – March 3, 1877
William J. Bacon	Republican	March 4, 1877 – March 3, 1879
Cyrus D. Prescott	Republican	March 4, 1879 – March 3, 1883
John T. Spriggs	Democratic	March 4, 1883 – March 3, 1887
James S. Sherman	Republican	March 4, 1887 – March 3, 1891
Henry W. Bentley	Democratic	March 4, 1891 – March 3, 1893
John M. Wever	Republican	March 4, 1893 – March 3, 1895		Redistricted from the 21st district
Wallace T. Foote, Jr.	Republican	March 4, 1895 – March 3, 1899
Louis W. Emerson	Republican	March 4, 1899 – March 3, 1903
George N. Southwick	Republican	March 4, 1903 – March 3, 1911		Redistricted from the 20th district
Henry S. De Forest	Republican	March 4, 1911 – March 3, 1913
Joseph A. Goulden	Democratic	March 4, 1913 – May 3, 1915		Died
Vacant		May 3, 1915 – November 2, 1915
William S. Bennet	Republican	November 2, 1915 – March 3, 1917
Daniel C. Oliver	Democratic	March 4, 1917 – March 4, 1919
Richard F. McKiniry	Democratic	March 4, 1919 – March 4, 1921
Albert B. Rossdale	Republican	March 4, 1921 – March 3, 1923
Frank A. Oliver	Democratic	March 4, 1923 – June 18, 1934		Resigned after being appointed justice of the Court of Special Sessions
Vacant		June 18, 1934 – January 3, 1935
Charles A. Buckley	Democratic	January 3, 1935 – January 3, 1945		Redistricted to the 25th district
Walter A. Lynch	Democratic	January 3, 1945 – January 3, 1951		Redistricted from the 22nd district
Sidney A. Fine	Democratic	January 3, 1951 – January 3, 1953		Redistricted to the 22nd district
Isidore Dollinger	Democratic	January 3, 1953 – December 31, 1959		Redistricted from the 24th district, Resigned
Vacant		January 1, 1960 – March 7, 1960
Jacob H. Gilbert	Democratic	March 8, 1960 – January 3, 1963		Redistricted to the 22nd district
Charles A. Buckley	Democratic	January 3, 1963 – January 3, 1965		Redistricted from the 24th district
Jonathan B. Bingham	Democratic	January 3, 1965 – January 3, 1973		Redistricted to the 22nd district
Peter A. Peyser	Republican	January 3, 1973 – January 3, 1977		Redistricted from the 25th district
Bruce F. Caputo	Republican	January 3, 1977 – January 3, 1979
Peter A. Peyser	Democratic	January 3, 1979 – January 3, 1983
Samuel S. Stratton	Democratic	January 3, 1983 – January 3, 1989	Schenectady	Redistricted from the 28th district
Michael R. McNulty	Democratic	January 3, 1989 – January 3, 1993	Green Island	Redistricted to the 21st district
Sherwood Boehlert	Republican	January 3, 1993 – January 3, 2003	New Hartford	Redistricted from the 25th district, Redistricted to the 24th district
John M. McHugh	Republican	January 3, 2003 – September 21, 2009	Pierrepont Manor	Redistricted from the 24th district Resigned to become Secretary of the Army
Vacant		September 21, 2009 – November 3, 2009	See New York's 23rd congressional district special election, 2009, held November 3, 2009
Bill Owens	Democratic	November 3, 2009 - Present	Plattsburgh

Recent election results

In New York, there are numerous minor parties at various points on the political spectrum. Certain parties often endorse either the Republican or Democratic candidate for every office, hence the state electoral results contain both the party votes, and the final candidate votes.

US House election, 1996: New York District 23
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Sherwood Boehlert	124,626	64.3
	Democratic	Bruce W. Hapanowicz	50,436	26.0
	Independence	Thomas E. Loughlin, Jr.	10,835	5.6
	Right to Life	William Tapley	7,790	4.0
Majority			74,190	38.3
Turnout			193,687

US House election, 1998: New York District 23
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Sherwood Boehlert	111,242	80.8	+16.5
	Conservative	David Vickers	26,493	19.2	+19.2
Majority			84,749	61.5	+23.2
Turnout			137,735		-28.9

US House election, 2000: New York District 23
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Sherwood Boehlert	124,132	60.5	-20.3
	Conservative	David Vickers	42,854	20.9	+1.7
	Democratic	Richard W. Englebrecht	38,049	18.6	+18.6
Majority			81,278	39.6	-21.9
Turnout			205,535		+48.9

US House election, 2002: New York District 23
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	John M. McHugh	124,682	100	+39.5
Majority			124,682	100	+61.4
Turnout			124,682		-39.2

US House election, 2004: New York District 23
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	John M. McHugh	160,079	70.7	-29.3
	Democratic	Robert J. Johnson	66,448	29.3	+29.3
Majority			93,631	41.3	-59.7
Turnout			226,527		+81.7

US House election, 2006: New York District 23
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	John M. McHugh	106,781	63.1	-7.6
	Democratic	Robert J. Johnson	62,318	36.9	+7.6
Majority			44,463	26.3	-15.0
Turnout			169,099		-25.4

US House election, 2008: New York District 23
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	John M. McHugh	129,991	65.3	+2.2
	Democratic	Michael P. Oot	69,112	34.7	-2.2
Majority			60,879	30.6
Turnout			199,103		+17.7

New York's 23rd congressional district special election, 2009
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Bill Owens	73,137	48.3	+14.0
	Conservative	Doug Hoffman	69,553	46.0	+25.1 (2000)
	Republican	Dede Scozzafava (withdrew, but still on the ballot)[1]	8,582	5.7	-59.6
Majority			3,584	2.4	-28.2
Turnout			151,272		-24.0

Scozzafava dropped out of the race just prior to the election and endorsed Democrat Bill Owens. The results were not certified by the New York State Board of Elections until December 15, 2009.

US House election, 2010: New York District 23
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Bill Owens	82,232	47.5	-0.8
	Republican	Matthew Doheney	80,237	46.4	+40.7
	Conservative	Doug Hoffman	10,507	6.1	-39.9
Majority			1,995	1.2	-1.2
Turnout			172,976		+14.3

In most of the geographic area that now makes up NY-23, Owens is the first Democrat to be elected since the 19th century. The district has only been in its current form since 2003, due to repeated reapportioning and the renumbering of districts. A large portion of the district—including the largest city, Watertown—has not been represented by a Democrat since the 1850s. In parts of the current 23rd district, for example Franklin county, the last non-Republican representative was a Whig, George A. Simmons, elected in 1852 in what was then NY-16. ^[2]

References

1. ^ Associated Press (October 31, 2009). "Republican in State House Race Suspends Campaign". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/10/31/nyregion/AP-US-NY-Special-Election.html?hp. ^{[dead link]}
2. ^ "The Amazing Political History of NY-23". Swing State Project. June 6, 2009. http://www.swingstateproject.com/diary/5072/amazing-political-history-of-ny23. 

Sources

• Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. 
• Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. 

External links

• Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present
• Election results via Clerk.house.gov:
  • 1996 House election data, via Clerk of the House of Representatives
  • 1998 House election data
  • 2000 House election data
  • 2002 House election data
  • 2004 House election data