--- title: "Gies vs. Langworthy: 2026 New York’s 23rd District race" url: "https://www.2026election.com/race/2026-house-ny-23" updated: "2026-08-01" source: "Candidates' campaign sites and Ballotpedia, quoted verbatim" publisher: "Pluribus" --- # 2026 New York’s 23rd District race: Aaron Gies (D) vs. Nick Langworthy (R) Rating: Safe R · Election: November 3, 2026 · Ballot checked: October 9, 2026 · Positions captured: August 1, 2026 Incumbent Republican Rep. Nick Langworthy faces Democratic nominee Aaron Gies in the general election for New York's 23rd Congressional District on November 3, 2026. The race hinges on differing approaches to cost of living and district priorities, with Gies focusing on public education, affordable housing, universal healthcare, and labor rights, while Langworthy emphasizes curbing government spending, expanding domestic energy production, border enforcement, and conservative social policies. ## Candidates - **Aaron Gies** (Democrat) · [Campaign site](https://aaronforny23.com/) · [Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Aaron_Gies) - **Nick Langworthy** (Republican, incumbent) · [Campaign site](https://nicklangworthy.com/) · [Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Nick_Langworthy) ## Issues ### Economy and Cost of Living Salience: high Gies advocates for raising wages, worker bargaining power, and ending corporate tax breaks, whereas Langworthy supports curbing federal spending, deregulation, and pro-growth tax policies. **Aaron Gies:** Supports higher wages and worker protections Gies focuses on making everyday life affordable for working families across Western New York. He advocates for raising wages, strengthening workers' collective bargaining power, and stopping tax breaks and deregulation for large corporations. - Supports raising wages and strengthening collective bargaining power for workers. - Opposes corporate tax breaks and deregulation in favor of working families. - Focuses campaign on affordability and the common good for Southern Tier residents. > “A GOOD LIFE SHOULD BE AFFORDABLE” > — Aaron Gies, via [Campaign site](https://aaronforny23.com/) > “Instead of tax breaks and deregulation for large corporations, Aaron supports raising wages and strengthening workers’ bargaining power.” > — Aaron Gies, via [Campaign site](https://aaronforny23.com/) **Nick Langworthy:** Supports spending cuts and deregulation Langworthy advocates for curbing government spending to curb inflation and lower prices for groceries, gas, and housing. He supports pro-growth tax policies, deregulation, and shifting supply chains away from China to expand U.S. manufacturing. - Curb wasteful federal spending to fight inflation and reduce national debt. - Implement pro-growth tax and deregulatory policies to increase take-home pay. - Move supply chains away from China to expand domestic manufacturing. > “Curb wasteful government spending that is raising the price of groceries, gas, cars, and housing, and growing our national debt.” > — Nick Langworthy, via [Campaign site](https://nicklangworthy.com/) > “Increase take-home pay, create good-paying jobs, and bring stability to the economy through pro-growth tax and deregulatory policies.” > — Nick Langworthy, via [Campaign site](https://nicklangworthy.com/) ### Healthcare Salience: high Gies supports universal healthcare and protecting federal health funding, while Langworthy advocates market competition, price transparency, and personalized care. **Aaron Gies:** Supports universal healthcare coverage Gies champions universal healthcare to protect families from medical debt and bankruptcy. He opposes federal funding cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, Veterans Affairs benefits, and rural healthcare systems that support local hospitals and nursing homes. - Advocates for universal healthcare to eliminate medical debt. - Opposes cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, VA benefits, and rural health systems. - Protects rural hospitals and nursing homes in Western New York from budget reductions. > “Medical debt is now one of the most common causes of bankruptcy in America. At the same time, cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, VA benefits, and rural healthcare systems threaten hospitals and nursing homes across communities like ours.” > — Aaron Gies, via [Campaign site](https://aaronforny23.com/) **Nick Langworthy:** Supports market-based healthcare reform Langworthy promotes personalized healthcare options to improve care quality and lower prices through transparency, choice, and competition. He also pledges to save and strengthen Social Security and Medicare while expanding access to telemedicine. - Personalize care and lower costs through choice, competition, and price transparency. - Commit to saving and strengthening Medicare and Social Security. - Expand access to telemedicine and invest in lifesaving cures. > “Lower prices through transparency, choice, and competition, invest in lifesaving cures, and improve access to telemedicine.” > — Nick Langworthy, via [Campaign site](https://nicklangworthy.com/) > “Save and strengthen Social Security and Medicare.” > — Nick Langworthy, via [Campaign site](https://nicklangworthy.com/) ### Education Salience: medium Gies seeks to protect federal funding for rural public schools and higher education assistance, whereas Langworthy emphasizes parental choice, a Parents' Bill of Rights, and restricting women's sports participation. **Aaron Gies:** Supports increased federal public school funding Gies supports expanding federal investments in rural public schools, special education, Head Start, Job Corps, and Pell Grants. He emphasizes that local property tax burdens are high while public schools struggle to receive adequate resources. - Defend federal investments for rural schools and special education. - Protect Head Start, Job Corps, and Pell Grants from budget cuts. - Relieve property tax burdens by strengthening federal public education support. > “Families are paying more in property taxes while many schools struggle to deliver the resources students need. At the same time, there are efforts to cut federal education investments that support rural schools, special education, Head Start, Job Corps, and Pell Grants.” > — Aaron Gies, via [Campaign site](https://aaronforny23.com/) **Nick Langworthy:** Supports parental choice and sports sex restrictions Langworthy advocates advancing a Parents' Bill of Rights, expanding parental school choice, and addressing pandemic learning loss. He also supports restricting participation in female athletic programs strictly to biological women. - Advance the Parents' Bill of Rights and expand school choice. - Voted Yea on the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2025 (H.R. 28). - Recover lost learning resulting from pandemic school closures. > “Advance the Parents’ Bill of Rights, recover lost learning from school closures, and expand parental choice so over a million more students can receive the education their parents know is best.” > — Nick Langworthy, via [Campaign site](https://nicklangworthy.com/) > “Defend fairness by ensuring that only women can compete in women’s sports.” > — Nick Langworthy, via [Campaign site](https://nicklangworthy.com/) ### Energy and Environment Salience: medium Gies views small family farms as key stewards of the environment, whereas Langworthy focuses on maximizing fossil fuel production and cutting permitting times. **Aaron Gies:** Supports environmental stewardship via family farms Gies integrates environmental stewardship into his agricultural platform, advocating support for family farms as essential caretakers of local land, food security, and rural economies. - Promotes family farms as vital stewards of the local environment. - Links agricultural support to food security and environmental conservation. > “Family farms are essential to local economies, environmental stewardship, and food security.” > — Aaron Gies, via [Campaign site](https://aaronforny23.com/) **Nick Langworthy:** Supports maximizing domestic energy production Langworthy advocates maximizing production of domestic energy resources—including oil, gas, and coal—to achieve energy independence and lower utility prices. He supports cutting permitting timelines in half and voted for the Lower Energy Costs Act. - Maximize production of American energy resources to cut reliance on foreign sources. - Cut environmental permitting timelines in half to prevent rolling blackouts. - Voted Yea on the Lower Energy Costs Act (H.R. 1). > “Maximize production of reliable, cleaner, American-made energy and cut the permitting process time in half to reduce reliance on foreign countries, prevent rolling blackouts, and lower the cost of gas and utilities.” > — Nick Langworthy, via [Campaign site](https://nicklangworthy.com/) ### Agriculture Salience: medium Gies highlights family farms as explicit core priorities for local food security, while Langworthy points to his committee record and federal agricultural appropriations. **Aaron Gies:** Supports protecting local family farms Gies places saving family farms among his top platform priorities, arguing small farms are essential to food security, environmental stewardship, and the Southern Tier economy. - Prioritizes federal policy to support and save family farms. - Emphasizes the role of family farms in rural economic stability and food supply. > “Family farms are essential to local economies, environmental stewardship, and food security.” > — Aaron Gies, via [Campaign site](https://aaronforny23.com/) **Nick Langworthy:** Supports agricultural funding and rural development Langworthy served on the House Agriculture Committee during the 118th Congress and supported federal funding for agricultural programs and rural infrastructure. - Served on the House Committee on Agriculture (118th Congress). - Voted Yea on H.R. 5371 funding federal agriculture and rural programs. ### Immigration and Border Security Salience: medium **Aaron Gies:** No documented position in our sources **Nick Langworthy:** Supports strict border enforcement and deportation Langworthy supports fully funding physical border barriers, advanced technology, and law enforcement personnel to curb illegal crossings. He voted for the Laken Riley Act, Secure the Border Act, and measures making DUIs grounds for deportation. - Fully fund border infrastructure, enforcement technology, and law enforcement. - Require legal status verification for employment and eliminate welfare incentives. - Voted Yea on the Laken Riley Act (S.5) and the Secure the Border Act (H.R. 2). > “Fully fund effective border enforcement strategies, infrastructure, and advanced technology to prevent illegal crossings and trafficking by cartels.” > — Nick Langworthy, via [Campaign site](https://nicklangworthy.com/) > “End catch-and-release loopholes, require legal status to get a job, and eliminate welfare incentives.” > — Nick Langworthy, via [Campaign site](https://nicklangworthy.com/) ### Housing Salience: medium **Aaron Gies:** Supports expanded affordable housing development Gies frames housing as a fundamental human need rather than just an investment vehicle. He supports policies to make Western New York and the Southern Tier 'housing-ready' to tackle high prices and scarce supply. - Views housing as a basic human need rather than an investment asset. - Advocates making Western New York and the Southern Tier a housing-ready region. > “Across Western New York and the Southern Tier, housing is scarce and increasingly unaffordable. Housing is not just an investment; it is a basic human need.” > — Aaron Gies, via [Campaign site](https://aaronforny23.com/) **Nick Langworthy:** No documented position in our sources ### Abortion and Social Issues Salience: medium **Aaron Gies:** No documented position in our sources **Nick Langworthy:** Opposes abortion and protects gun rights Langworthy maintains a conservative position on social and constitutional issues, pledging to protect unborn children, safeguard the Second Amendment, and defend religious freedom and free speech. - Pledges to protect the lives of unborn children and their mothers. - Safeguards Second Amendment gun rights against federal restrictions. - Defends free speech and religious liberty. > “Uphold free speech, protect the lives of unborn children and their mothers, guarantee religious freedom, and safeguard the Second Amendment.” > — Nick Langworthy, via [Campaign site](https://nicklangworthy.com/) ### Election Integrity and Governance Salience: low **Aaron Gies:** No documented position in our sources **Nick Langworthy:** Supports voter ID and strict voting rules Langworthy supports federal election integrity measures including voter ID requirements, accurate voter roll maintenance, and observer access. He voted for the SAVE Act to mandate documentary proof of citizenship for federal voting registration. - Advocates for voter ID laws, accurate voter rolls, and poll observer access. - Voted Yea on the SAVE Act (H.R. 22) requiring documentary proof of citizenship to vote. - Opposes proxy voting in Congress to increase legislative accountability. > “increase accountability in the election process through voter ID, accurate voter rolls, and observer access.” > — Nick Langworthy, via [Campaign site](https://nicklangworthy.com/) ## Polls and markets _Updated Oct 31._ - [Polymarket](https://polymarket.com/event/ny-23-house-election-winner) — NY-23 House Election Winner: Republicans 96.7%, Democrats 2.8% - [Kalshi](https://kalshi.com/events/KXHOUSERACE-NY23-26) — NY-23 House winner?: Nick Langworthy 94.3%, Aaron Gies 3.9% [View this race on 2026election.com](https://www.2026election.com/race/2026-house-ny-23)