Two Democratic candidates hope to unseat Republican Nick Langworthy and flip the 23rd Congressional District for the first time in nearly 16 years.
Aaron Gies of Cattarauguas County and Kevin Stocker of Erie County will begin collecting signatures for their designating petitions on Feb. 24 to challenge Langworthy in the midterm elections.
Collecting signatures for designating petitions is part of the first steps to running for elected office. The petitions are for candidates affiliated with a specific political party. There are four designating parties in New York state: Democratic, Republican, Conservative and Working Families.
Gies heads into petitioning with the endorsement of five county Democratic committees: Erie, Cattaraugus, Steuben, Niagara and Tioga.
"Aaron Gies has demonstrated himself to be smart, sincere, knowledgeable, and highly capable, which is everything NY23 lacks in its current representative,” said Margie Lawlor, co-chair of the Steuben County Democratic Committee.
According to Lawlor’s co-chair, Shawn Hogan, the majority of the committee feels that Gies can “carry the party line in [the] general election.”
“These midterm elections are crucial and incredibly important to preserving our Democracy and listening to the needs of the people,” said Hogan.
Gies said in a press release that the early endorsements “reflect a shared recognition that families in this district want stability, affordability, and leadership that shows up.”
Langworthy has been criticized by some of his constituents for not holding any in-person town hall meetings since first taking office in 2023. He has said he can reach more people by holding telephone town halls instead, and claimed to dial 100,000 phone numbers each time.
Since announcing his run for office last summer, Gies said that he attended nearly 80 community events across the district.
“In our campaign, we talk about the common good, what people sincerely want for one another: dependable healthcare, stable jobs, safe homes, and time with family,” said Gies. “These aren’t partisan or controversial—they’re shared priorities.”
Gies’ Democratic Party challenger, Kevin Stocker of Erie County said he is “committed to conducting a primary for Democrat voters.”
He began petitioning Tuesday without any official endorsements from the remaining four county Democratic committees in the district—Chautauqua, Schuyler, Allegany and Chemung.
Stocker said he will be knocking on doors to earn voters’ trust and collect their signatures. He said he “will keep my promise to voters to restore their power so they can decide who should fight for them, their family, their community and their country.”
Petitioning runs from Feb. 24 to April 2. Primary elections are June 23.