Voters in New York’s 25th Congressional District will have a new representative in January when Democrat Joe Morelle is sworn on Tuesday.

With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Morelle had 58 percent of the vote, with Jim Maxwell getting 41 percent.

The seat had been held for more than 20 years by Rep. Louise Slaughter, who passed away in March.

Morelle won both the special election to fill the remainder of Slaughter's term, which would expire in December, and the new term starting in January. 

Morelle, a long-time politician, served more than two decades in the state legislature, most recently as majority leader. Maxwell is a newcomer with a long career as a neurosurgeon.

Maxwell mentioned his previous career in his concession speech, saying that when he entered the race, he was asked if he thought he could defeat Morelle. 

"Why would I give up a career as a neurosurgeon, clean out every penny bank, every account I own, throw it into the race, and enter a grueling cycle of speeches, town halls and fundraisers if I didn’t believe I could win?," he said. "I believed in my campaign, i worked  very, very hard. The campaign has been hard, but it has completely drawn me out of any comfort zone I had... For that, I am personally very grateful." 

In their final debate last week, the two men did find common ground, pledging to work together after the election to help fund breast cancer research at the University of Rochester, something of great importance to both men: Maxwell lost his wife to the disease, while Morelle lost his daughter.