Reply To: Congressional elections 2022

from Lohud:

One unique factor had no relation to larger political tides: the large number of Orthodox voters in Orange and Rockland and the galvanizing issue that led many to vote Republican, even if that meant disregarding the endorsements of their leaders. That issue was the state push to require more secular education in Hasidic schools, a move that infuriated those voters and drew them to Zeldin, who forcefully supported their cause.
The net result went both ways, with Orthodox votes helping a Democrat in one congressional district and a Republican in another. Ryan, a Democrat, won the 18th District race by 2,173 votes and had a net gain of 1,510 votes in Orange County’s Kiryas Joel, a Satmar Hasidic community where Ryan was endorsed by leaders but many voters cast ballots for Schmitt instead. (The vote split was 4,039-2,529 for Ryan and Schmitt. In the 17th District, heavy support from Rockland’s Orthodox voters helped carry Lawler past Maloney, despite endorsements for Maloney by leaders of the Hasidic villages of New Square and Kaser. No precise breakdown was available on Wednesday, but Yossi Gestetner, co-founder of the Orthodox Jewish Public Affairs Council, estimated a massive turnout of 20,000 Orthodox voters and said they voted overwhelmingly for Lawler.
Aside from his support on the yeshiva issue, Lawler had earned Orthodox backing through his responsiveness to their interests as a state assemblyman for the last two years.