With complete results for 21 of 29 counties reported late Tuesday, Hayworth, of Bedford, held a 52 percent to 47 percent lead over incumbent Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney in the District 18 Independence primary.
District 18 includes all of Putnam and Orange counties, as well as northeastern Westchester County and southeast Dutchess County.
Both candidates ran unopposed in their party’s Republican and Democratic primaries, and will each be represented on the ballot at the general election in November, making for an intriguing rematch.
Maloney (D-Cold Spring) narrowly edged Hayworth (R-Mount Kisco) for his seat in the 18th District in the 2012 election, besting her by less than 10,000 votes - 49 percent to 45 percent.
Hayworth, the former representative of the now abolished 19th congressional district, was the victim of the state’s redistricting in 2012 when she lost to Maloney, who was elected for the first time. Hayworth will officially earn Republican, Conservative nominations at the primary, while Maloney will run under the Democratic and Working Family Parties.
There were no other Putnam politicians on the ballot as New Yorkers headed to the polls to vote in the primary election Tuesday.
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