Singletary concedes, Morelle says result delay was ‘small price to pay to make sure we got it right’

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — A Democrat has won Rochester’s seat in Congress every time over the last 36 years.

But Joe Morelle’s win over La’Ron Singletary was the second closest during those three decades. This afternoon, Republican La’Ron Singletary called Morelle to concede the election.

“I just want to express my appreciation to La’Ron Singletary,” Morelle said today. “He ran a very, very good campaign.”

Brean: “The feeling of waiting for the results last night was what?”
Morelle: “I think it just heightened the anxiety that people are feeling. But it’s a small price to pay to make sure we got it right.”

Tuesday, Singletary said it was surreal to vote for himself. In his concession statement Wednesday, he said the “decision … was made after the Monroe County Board of Elections provided information detailing the results of the election.”

The unofficial results show Morelle beat Singletary by 23,000 votes. That’s not exactly close, but it is closer than most of the elections for the Rochester seat over the past 30 years.

The late Louise Slaughter typically won with 59, 65 and 78 percent of the vote. Morelle topped 59 percent his first two times. It’s only been under 55 percent twice since 1992. Tuesday, Morelle got 54 percent of the vote.

Brean: “With the margin as close as it is now, how does this change the way you operate the next two years?”

Morelle: “No not at all. I knew this was going to be a very close race. Frankly, Berkeley, if you had asked me yesterday, 24 hours ago, whether I thought it was possible to win by eight points or 20,000 votes roughly, I would have said I thought that was crazy.”

Morelle’s win continues the dominance of Democrats for Rochester’s seat in Congress. The last time a Republican won it, Ronald Reagan was president.

You can see the rest of the 2022 election results here.