Democrat Ryan Taughrin has unseated Republican incumbent Patrick Chludzinski in New York's 143rd Assembly District, flipping the Buffalo-area seat back to Democratic control one week after Election Day. Chludzinski conceded Tuesday as Taughrin declared victory, closing out one of the tightest local contests of the general election.
A 570-Vote Margin Decides the Race
The Erie County Board of Elections' final count put Taughrin ahead of Chludzinski 50.6 percent to 49.4 percent, a difference of 570 votes, according to Buffalo Toronto Public Media. WKBW reported that the Associated Press had projected Taughrin as the winner. As reported by WIVB, Taughrin received 23,226 votes to Chludzinski's 22,656, with Chludzinski conceding Tuesday while Taughrin declared victory, a full week after election day.
The district, which includes part of Buffalo's East Side and extends into Cheektowaga, Depew and Lancaster, per the Investigative Post's reporting, had already seen its margin shift over the preceding days. An earlier count had shown Taughrin leading by just 336 votes with about 99 percent of ballots tallied, the same report noted — a result of Taughrin winning the early vote by more than 2,000 ballots while Chludzinski carried Election Day voting by roughly 1,700.
The Seat's Recent Election History
In 2024, Chludzinski unseated Democrat Monica Wallace for the seat, according to the same WIVB report. That race was itself an upset: the Buffalo News reported at the time that Chludzinski denied Wallace a fifth term, winning about 52 percent of the vote with all sites reporting.
Taughrin currently works as an assistant dean for enrollment management in the graduate school of education at University at Buffalo, the station's report states. He was also elected a trustee on the Lancaster library board. On the campaign trail, Taughrin named tightening rules on automatic license plate readers such as Flock cameras, steering child care money to Western New York, and lowering utility and health costs as his top three priorities, according to the Lancaster Bee.
Part of a Broader Statewide Shift
District 143 was one of six Assembly seats Democrats flipped across New York State, while Republicans flipped just one, per the WIVB report. Overall, Democrats won 111 of the state Assembly's 150 seats. Buffalo Toronto Public Media described the District 143 contest as the closest local race held during last Tuesday's general election.
Turnout played a role in the tight finish. Nearly 100,000 Erie County voters cast ballots at early polling sites in the week-and-a-half before Election Day, an increase of more than 40 percent over 2022, according to the Investigative Post.
Committee Spending Favored Taughrin
Campaign finance filings show the Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee poured significant resources into the race. The Investigative Post reported the committee spent $836,593 in support of Taughrin, including $450,736 in advertising buys and $350,500 sent directly to his campaign in two installments. The Republican Assembly Campaign Committee, by contrast, reported just $84,334 in support for Chludzinski, far less than Democratic committee spending backing his challenger.
