New York House
Filing Deadline: July 10, 2008 • Primary Date: Sept. 9, 2008 • General Election: Nov. 4, 2008District Profile: This district, consisting of the eastern end of Long Island, ousted its incumbent congressmen in both 2000 and 2002, the only district to do so. Full Profile
2006 results: Tim Bishop (D) defeated Italo Zanzi (R) by 62-38%.
Incumbent
Tim Bishop (D)
Elected in 2002; Seeking fourth term; Bishop was unopposed in the primary.
District Profile: Mostly, the 2nd is the humbler part of Long Island, farther east than most of the fashionable commuter suburbs. Full Profile
2006 results: Steve Israel (D) defeated John Bugler (R) by 70-30%.
Incumbent
Steve Israel (D)
Elected in 2000; Seeking fifth term; Israel was unopposed in the primary.
Challengers
Frank Stalzer (R)Stalzer, a businessman, was unopposed in the primary..
District Profile: Sept. 11 likely had an effect on voting here in 2004: Al Gore carried this suburban district in 2000, but it broke sharply toward George W. Bush in 2004. Full Profile
2006 results: Peter King (R) defeated David Mejias (D) by 56-44%.
Incumbent
Peter King (R)
Elected in 1992; Seeking ninth term; King was nominated with 88% in a two-way primary.
Challengers
Graham Long (D)Long, an economic development consultant, was unopposed in the primary.
District Profile: The traditional Republican heritage in the 4th District is becoming a dim memory; the county legislature is now led by a Democratic majority. Full Profile
2006 results: Carolyn McCarthy (D) defeated Martin Blessinger (R) by 65-35%.
Incumbent
Carolyn McCarthy (D)
Elected in 1996; Seeking seventh term; McCarthy was unopposed in the primary.
Challengers
Jack Martins (R)Martins, the Mineola mayor, was unopposed in the primary.
District Profile: Both the Queens and Nassau County bits of the district have long voted Democratic, but it's hard to predict the future voting preferences of Asian and Hispanic residents. Full Profile
2006 results: Gary Ackerman (D) was unopposed.
Incumbent
Gary Ackerman (D)
Elected in March 1983; Seeking thirteenth full term; Ackerman was unopposed in the primary.
District Profile: The 6th is ranked as the nation's worst for commuters -- average travel time to work is 48 minutes. Politically, the district is overwhelmingly Democratic. Full Profile
2006 results: Gregory Meeks (D) was unopposed.
Incumbent
Gregory Meeks (D)
Elected in Feb. 1998; Seeking sixth full term; Meeks was unopposed in the primary.
Challengers
None
District Profile: The 7th votes heavily Democratic in presidential and congressional elections. But in 2006 only 76,000 people voted in this district of 661,000. Full Profile
2006 results: Joseph Crowley (D) defeated Kevin Brawley (R) by 84-16%.
Incumbent
Joseph Crowley (D)
Elected in 1998; Seeking sixth term; Crowley was unopposed in the primary.
Challengers
William Britt (R)Britt, the Bronx Conservative Party treasurer, was unopposed in the primary.
District Profile: Lower Manhattan makes up the 8th. It has long been home to Wall Street and the Financial District, as well as TriBeCa, SoHo and Greenwich Village. Full Profile
2006 results: Jerrold Nadler (D) defeated Eleanor Friedman (R) by 85-14%.
Incumbent
Jerrold Nadler (D)
Elected in 1992; Seeking ninth term; Nadler was unopposed in the primary.
Challengers
Grace Lin (R)Lin, a financial executive, was unopposed in the primary.
District Profile: The 25-percentage point erosion in the Democratic margin of victory between 2000 and 2004 marked the greatest swing of any congressional district in the nation. Full Profile
2006 results: Anthony Weiner (D) was unopposed.
Incumbent
Anthony Weiner (D)
Elected in 1998; Seeking sixth term; Weiner was unopposed in the primary.
Challengers
None
District Profile: The district is 60 percent black -- the highest of any New York district. Politically, it is one of the nation's most overwhelmingly Democratic districts. Full Profile
2006 results: Edolphus Towns (D) defeated Jonathan Anderson (R) by 92-6%.
Incumbent
Edolphus Towns (D)
Elected in 1982; Seeking fourteenth term; Towns was nominated with 67% in a two-way primary.
Challengers
Salvatore Grupico (R)Grupico was unopposed in the primary.
District Profile: From the '20s to the '60s, the area defined by the 11th had the largest concentration of Jews in the country. But today, the population is 59 percent black and 12 percent Hispanic. Full Profile
2006 results: Yvette Clarke (D) defeated Stephen Finger (R) by 90-8%.
Incumbent
Yvette Clarke (D)
Elected in 2006; Seeking second term; Clarke was unopposed in the primary.
Challengers
Hugh Carr (R)Carr was unopposed in the primary.
District Profile: The 12th was designed to stitch many diverse people together. More than two-thirds of the residents live in Brooklyn; most of the rest are in Queens, with some in Manhattan. Full Profile
2006 results: Nydia Velazquez (D) defeated Allan Romaguera (R) by 90-10%.
Incumbent
Nydia Velazquez (D)
Elected in 1992; Seeking ninth term; Velazquez was unopposed in the primary.
Challengers
Allan Romaguera (R)Romaguera was unopposed in the primary.
District Profile: Ethnically, Staten Island is the most heavily Italian part of the United States; the 13th District has the highest percentage of residents of Italian ancestry in the nation. Full Profile
2006 results: Vito Fossella (R) defeated Stephen Harrison (D) by 57-43%.
Republicans
Bob Straniere (R)Straniere, a former state assemblyman, was nominated with 59% in a two-way primary.
Democrats
Michael McMahon (D)
McMahon, a New York City Councilor, was nominated with 75% in a two-way primary.
District Profile: The 14th includes within its irregular borders the Upper East Side, home to a population with more accumulated wealth than anywhere else in the world. Full Profile
2006 results: Carolyn Maloney (D) defeated Danniel Maio (R) by 84-16%.
Incumbent
Carolyn Maloney (D)
Elected in 1992; Seeking ninth term; Maloney was unopposed in the primary.
Challengers
Robert Heim (R)Heim was unopposed in the primary.
District Profile: The 15th includes Harlem and all of northern Manhattan. In 2004, it was the most heavily Democratic congressional district in the nation. Full Profile
2006 results: Charles Rangel (D) defeated Edward Daniels (R) by 94-6%.
Incumbent
Charles Rangel (D)
Elected in 1970; Seeking twentieth term; Rangel was unopposed in the primary.
District Profile: Measured by median income and percentage of families below poverty status, this district -- the South Bronx -- ranks as the most impoverished district in the nation. Full Profile
2006 results: Jose Serrano (D) defeated Ali Mohamed (R) by 95-5%.
Incumbent
Jose Serrano (D)
Elected in March 1990; Seeking tenth full term; Serrano was unopposed in the primary.
Challengers
Ali Mohamed (R)Mohamed was unopposed in the primary.
District Profile: In addition to the Bronx, the 17th reaches deep into the suburbs, taking in Mount Vernon and Yonkers. Full Profile
2006 results: Eliot Engel (D) defeated Jim Faulkner (R) by 76-24%.
Incumbent
Eliot Engel (D)
Elected in 1988; Seeking eleventh term; Engel was unopposed in the primary.
Challengers
Robert Goodman (R)Goodman was unopposed in the primary.
District Profile: Blessed with some of America's loveliest scenery, and easily accessible to Manhattan by train since the mid-19th century, this became some of America's first suburban terrain. Full Profile
2006 results: Nita Lowey (D) defeated Richard Hoffman (R) by 71-29%.
Incumbent
Nita Lowey (D)
Elected in 1988; Seeking eleventh term; Lowey was unopposed in the primary.
Challengers
Jim Russell (R)Russell, a college professor, was unopposed in the primary.
District Profile: The 19th District covers much of the lower Hudson Valley, sprawling across parts of five counties. Full Profile
2006 results: John Hall (D) defeated Sue Kelly (R) by 51-49%.
Incumbent
John Hall (D)
Elected in 2006; Seeking second term; Hall was unopposed in the primary.
Challengers
Kieran Michael Lalor (R)Lalor, an Iraq War veteran and conservative activist, was unopposed in the primary.
District Profile: The sprawling 20th clamps around the Albany metro area and includes much of the Hudson Valley. Full Profile
2006 results: Kirsten Gillibrand (D) defeated John Sweeney (R) by 53-47%.
Incumbent
Kirsten Gillibrand (D)
Elected in 2006; Seeking second term; Gillibrand was unopposed in the primary.
Challengers
Sandy Treadwell (R)Treadwell, the former state GOP chair and former secretary of state, was unopposed in the primary.
District Profile: While the outer counties lean modestly Republican, the Democratic machine vote in Albany makes this a comfortably Democratic district. Full Profile
2006 results: Michael McNulty (D) defeated Warren Redlich (R) by 72-20%.
Democrats
Paul Tonko (D)
Tonko, a former state assemblyman, was nominated with 39% in a five-way primary.
Republicans
Jim Burhmaster (R)Burhmaster, a Schenectady County legislator, was nominated with 69% in a two-way primary.
District Profile: Today most of the area is Democratic, especially the university towns of Ithaca, Poughkeepsie and New Paltz. Full Profile
2006 results: Maurice Hinchey (D) was unopposed.
Incumbent
Maurice Hinchey (D)
Elected in 1992; Seeking ninth term; Hinchey was unopposed in the primary.
Challengers
George Phillips (R)Phillips, a teacher, was unopposed in the primary.
District Profile: Politically, the 23rd is mostly ancestral Republican country; it gave George W. Bush a small plurality in 2000 and a small majority in 2004. Full Profile
2006 results: John McHugh (R) defeated Robert Johnson (D) by 63-37%.
Incumbent
John McHugh (R)
Elected in 1992; Seeking ninth term; McHugh was unopposed in the primary.
District Profile: Like much of Upstate New York, the 24th is historically Republican but trended to Democrats in the 1990s. Full Profile
2006 results: Michael Arcuri (D) defeated Ray Meier (R) by 54-45%.
Incumbent
Michael Arcuri (D)
Elected in 2006; Seeking second term; Arcuri was unopposed in the primary.
Challengers
Richard Hanna (R)Hanna, a construction company owner, was unopposed in the primary.
District Profile: Historically, Syracuse and Rochester have been heavily Republican, but this district voted 51 percent for Al Gore in 2000 and 50 percent for John Kerry in 2004. Full Profile
2006 results: James Walsh (R) defeated Dan Maffei (D) by 51-49%.
Republicans
Dale Sweetland (R)Sweetland, the former Onondaga County legislature chairman, was unopposed in primary.
District Profile: The 26th covers much of western New York, and it is one of six New York districts that voted for George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004. Full Profile
2006 results: Tom Reynolds (R) defeated Jack Davis (D) by 52-48%.
Democrats
Alice Kryzan (D)Kryzan, an attorney, was nominated with 42% in a three-way primary.
District Profile: The 27th consists of the eastern and southern two-thirds of Buffalo, plus most of the Erie County suburbs east and south of the city. Full Profile
2006 results: Brian Higgins (D) defeated Michael McHale (R) by 79-21%.
Incumbent
Brian Higgins (D)
Elected in 2004; Seeking third term; Higgins was unopposed in the primary.
Challengers
Dan Humiston (R)Humiston, a tanning salon owner, was unopposed in the primary.
District Profile: The 28th, in its present form, was created by redistricting in 2002. It includes Rochester, Niagara Falls and part of Buffalo. Full Profile
2006 results: Louise Slaughter (D) defeated John Donnelly (R) by 73-27%.
Incumbent
Louise Slaughter (D)
Elected in 1986; Seeking twelfth term; Slaughter was unopposed in the primary.
Challengers
David Crimmen (R)Crimmen, an accountant, was unopposed in the primary.
District Profile: The 29th includes much of the state's southern tier. Politically, this has been Republican country since the party's founding. Full Profile
2006 results: Randy Kuhl (R) defeated Eric Massa (D) by 51-49%.
Incumbent
Randy Kuhl (R)Elected in 2004; Seeking third term; Kuhl was unopposed in the primary.
Challengers
Eric Massa (D)
Massa, a retired Navy officer and former aide to Gen. Wesley Clark, was unopposed in the primary.
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Race Rankings
Based on likelihood of seat switching party control
1.
N.Y.-13
(Open-R)2.
N.Y.-25
(Open-R)3.
Ariz.-01
(Open-R)4.
Va.-11
(Open-R)5.
Fla.-16
(Mahoney-D)6.
Ill.-11
(Open-R)7.
Ohio-16
(Open-R)8.
Texas-22
(Lampson-D)9.
Alaska-AL
(Young-R)10.
Fla.-24
(Feeney-R)11.
N.J.-03
(Open-R)12.
Colo.-04
(Musgrave-R)13.
Mich.-09
(Knollenberg-R)14.
N.J.-07
(Open-R)15.
Minn.-06
(Bachmann-R)Previous Coverage
Check out National Journal's coverage of previous New York house races.
