Assembly Majority Leader Joe Morelle has won the Democratic primary in the 25th Congressional District.
Morelle will now face off against the Republican candidate Dr. Jim Maxwell in the general election on November 6th.
Four Democratic candidates were vying to get on the ballot to fill the seat previously held by the late Congresswoman Louise Slaughter, who passed away in March.
Morelle garnered more than 45 percent of the votes in Tuesday's primary. Rachel Barnhart was the runner-up with nearly 20 percent.
"I think the results tell us that this district obviously wanted choice. Each candidate in this race got thousands of votes. People had their say about the future of this very important seat," said Barnhart.
Adam McFadden and Robin Wilt each received 17 percent of the votes.
Monroe County Board of Elections reported that county-wide voter turnout in the Democratic primary was only at 16 percent as of 8 p.m.
The 25th Congressional District includes the majority of Monroe County, with the exception of the town of Hamlin, a small portion of Clarkson, and the southern portions of Wheatland, Rush and Mendon.
The Democratic primary featured Assemblyman Morelle, former television news reporter Rachel Barnhart, Brighton Town Board member Robin Wilt and Rochester City Councilman Adam McFadden, who all took to the streets earlier in the week to encourages residents to vote.
Morelle says his priorities include reforming the nation’s health care system. He supports the "Medicare for All" single-payer system.
He has also gone on record saying he feels something needs to be done about the proliferation of guns in the United States.
"I want to do everything I can to enact safe gun laws in the United States Congress, similar to what I've done as a member of the state Legislature with the SAFE Act and other initiatives that we've done over the years,” said Morelle.
Maxwell, the Republican candidate, is the chief of neurosurgery at Rochester General Hospital. He says he’s running for Congress because “we owe it to the next generation to end the status-quo in Washington and fix the mess our leaders have gotten us into."
His priorities include controlling the national debt, health care, and protecting the Second Amendment.
Maxwell released a statement following Morelle's victory:
"I congratulate Joe Morelle on winning the Democratic primary. I look forward to engaging in a spirited dialogue about the direction of Monroe County in the weeks and months to come."