State Sen. John Mannion has secured the Democratic nomination in the race for New York’s 22nd Congressional District, the Associated Press projects.

The two-term Albany lawmaker and longtime teacher defeated DeWitt Town Councilor Sarah Klee Hood in Tuesday’s primary elections, dealing Klee Hood her second loss for the Democratic Party’s nod for Central New York’s seat in the House of Representatives.

As of the latest unofficial results, Mannion had 62% of the vote to Klee Hood’s 38%, with 96% of the estimated vote counted.

Mannion will face freshman Republican Rep. Brandon Williams in the general election in November and aim to do what Democrats have failed to do since 2012 — win the House district anchored by the city of Syracuse.

The 22nd District consists of Onondaga, Madison and parts of Oneida, Cortland and Cayuga counties. A white whale of sorts for the party, the district that includes the city of Syracuse has had a Democratic representative only four years out of the last 44, despite a slight Democratic voter advantage and despite voting for Democratic presidential candidates for more than three decades.

The district’s new boundaries in 2024 are perhaps the most different in the state from two years ago after new lines were put into effect earlier this year. The district has shifted slightly more left, and Cook Political Report has named the seat one of the most vulnerable in the country for Republicans. Thus, this will likely be one of the most watched races this fall, especially with control of the House potentially up for grabs. Rep. Williams won the seat in 2022 by just 1.5%.

Mannion is used to close races. He first ran for the state Senate in 2018 and lost narrowly, but won in 2020 and was re-elected in 2022 by a mere 10 votes.