How the 2026 primary votes played out

In his victory speech after his 2026 Democratic primary win, incumbent Rep. Joe Morelle thanked his supporters while emphasizing the need for his party to unite.

“This is a time for Democrats to come together. I would urge people who supported me and who didn’t. The stakes are too high. The need is too great,” Morelle said. “We have to deliver a House Democratic majority and a Senate Democratic majority this fall to save America from the most corrupt president in American history.”

In November’s general election, Morelle will run against Republican challenger and current Monroe County Legislator Virginia McIntyre. Unofficial results on primary night gave him a commanding 62.3% of the ballots cast over former Brighton town board member Robin Wilt. 

This was Wilt’s third time challenging Morelle in a congressional primary; she also ran in 2018 and 2020. On social media the day following the election, she also thanked her supporters, but also criticized the media and commented on low voter turnout in the primary.

“There were multiple media outlets doing election night coverage, but they were largely absent covering the details of the primary election as it unfolded over the last four months,” she wrote. “This is journalistic malpractice and benefits the status quo. Voter apathy doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It results from the same corporate interests that predominate our government, also subverting the interests of the people when media coverage of important issues is involved.

“The Primary Election returns were disappointing, not solely because we weren’t able to reach the mark in terms of notching the election win, but more so because of the voter apathy that was reflected in the turnout numbers,” she continued. “My heart broke as I witnessed voter participation at 11% in some parts of the district.”

The unofficial results of the 2026 primary do show low voter turnout, but numbers relatively in line with the regional average.

For example, with 201,731 eligible voters in Monroe County for this year’s Democratic primary between Morelle and Wilt, 38,677 ballots were cast, giving that race a turnout of 19.2%.

This is actually higher than the average turnout for primary elections, according to Monroe County Board of Election records. Although there have been fluctuations, usually due to current events or presidential cycles, since 2002 the average turnout for Democrats has been 16.2%.

For Republican voters, the average is 14.8%, and for across all party affiliations, it is 15.7%.

The election results suggest Wilt’s efforts did not resonate beyond the southern part of Rochester. The only districts in which she won a greater vote share than Morelle were in electoral districts covering the Highland, South Wedge, Park Avenue, and North Winton neighborhoods. These were ones in which she performed well in the 2020 primary as well.

Some areas in East Rochester and the western parts of Brighton, Henrietta, and Irondequoit also broke for Wilt. However, they were isolated spots in a sea of Morelle supporters. He also dominated in the electoral districts within Ontario County.

Wilt’s 29.7% vote share in 2026 is slightly lower than the 31.8% she managed in 2020, when Congressional District 25 was smaller and did not include the towns of Hilton, Wheatland, Rush, or Mendon.

The Democratic primary race in the 24th Congressional District also was not close. Alissa Ellman won more votes than her opponent, Diana Kastenbaum, in almost all 14 counties covered by the district, finishing with nearly 59% of the ballots cast. Kastenbaum received a majority of the votes in Genesee County, which includes her hometown of Batavia.

Ellman will face Claudia Tenney, the Republican incumbent, in the November general election.

In the race for the state Assembly’s 130th District seat, results revealed a divide in both political parties between the town of Webster and Wayne County.

George Dobbins, the Republican winner and designated candidate of the Wayne County Republican committee, had a stronger showing there (45.6% of the vote) compared to Webster (23.5%). Conversely, the designated candidate for Monroe County Republicans, Mark Johns, did better in Webster (47.5%) than in Wayne County (18.5%). Summer Johnson, the third candidate in that race, received 34.4% of the vote in Wayne County and 27.8% in Webster.

Wayne County has 24,841 active enrolled Republicans, versus 11,081 in Webster.

For the Democrats, Carl Fitzsimmons and Joseph Lamanna were mirror opposites in their vote shares. Fitzsimmons received 53.6% in Webster and 42.9% in Wayne County; Lamanna won 41.4% in Webster and 53.6% in Wayne County. Unofficial results currently show Fitzsimmons with an extremely slim margin of 49 votes over Lamanna.

Unlike the Republicans, the Democratic enrollment breakdown is fairly even: 13,620 active enrolled Democrats in Wayne County and 10,868 in Webster.

 Jacob Schermerhorn is a Rochester Beacon contributing writer and data journalist.

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