On May 10, 2022, Reed resigned from the seat representing New York's 23rd congressional district, a seat to which he had already stated he would not stand for re-election past 2022, leaving a vacancy in the 117th United States Congress. The boundaries of the district were to be redrawn according to the 2020 United States Census. Though two Republican candidates emerged for the newly redrawn district, former BuffaloSchool Board member Carl Paladino and eventual primary winner Nick Langworthy, both lived outside the bounds of the 23rd district as drawn at the time and decided not to seek the seat in the special election; the Republican county chairmen from the district selected Sempolinski to run for the seat in the special election.[5]
Sempolinski defeated Max Della Pia, the Democratic nominee by a 53.1%–46.6% margin.[7] He won 10 out of the 11 counties in the district, while Della Pia overwhelmingly won Tompkins County.[8]
Tenure
Sempolinski had pledged not to seek re-election in the November general election.[5] He was sworn in immediately before Congress reconvened on September 13.[9][10]
Committee assignments
On September 13, 2022, Sempolinski was assigned to the following committees:[11]
In February 2024, Sempolinski announced that he would run for the New York State Assembly in the 148th district in 2024, seeking to succeed state assemblyman Joseph Giglio, who employed Sempolinski as his chief of staff.[12]