House swears in three new lawmakers, including Alaska’s Mary Peltola

Three new lawmakers were sworn into the House on Tuesday after winning special elections last month to serve out terms that will expire at the beginning of January.

Reps. Mary Peltola (D-Alaska), Pat Ryan (D-N.Y.) and Joe Sempolinski (R-N.Y.) all took the oath of office, officially cementing them as members of the House. The chamber erupted in cheers after the swearing-in.

Alaska Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R) and Dan Sullivan (R) were on the House floor during the swearing-in.

With the three new lawmakers there are a total of 433 members of the House. Democrats hold a nine-seat majority in the 221-212 split chamber. Two seats remain vacant: that of the late Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-Ind.), who died in a car accident last month, and of former Rep. Charlie Crist (D-Fla.), who resigned last month as he campaigns for governor in the Sunshine State.

Peltola, a former Alaska state representative, won a special election to fill the seat left vacant by the late Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), who died in March at the age of 88. Her victory, which has been considered an upset, flipped the longtime Republican-held seat blue.

Peltola beat former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) for the seat in a ranked-choice election. She is the first Alaska Native to win a congressional race and is the first woman to represent Alaska in the House. The Last Frontier has one at-large seat in the lower chamber.

“I’m excited to work with all of you to explain and take action to address Alaska’s needs just as you did with my predecessor, the congressman for all Alaska, Don Young. Like all the Alaskans, I mourned his passing,” she said on the House floor Tuesday.

“Don was a true institution, an Alaskan icon. Someone who fought so hard and so well for our state for 49 years. I know many of you loved Don, and I’m sorry for your loss, too. I’m committed to securing his legacy of bipartisanship and a deep respect for this institution,” she added.

Peltola, sparking laughter in the chamber, said that while she “might have a different approach than Don — you know how soft spoken he was — but you will still be hearing all about Alaska, our people and our state’s unique needs.”

New York’s congressional delegation gained two new members on Tuesday in Ryan and Sempolinski.

Ryan won a special election last month to finish former Rep. Antonio Delgado’s (D-N.Y.) term after Delgado was tapped to serve as New York lieutenant governor.

In remarks on the House floor Tuesday, Ryan recognized the “moment of immense consequence and challenge” in the U.S., before vowing to “fight every single day” for the Empire State.

“This is a moment of immense consequence and challenge for our country. I truly believe it is an all hands on deck moment for our democracy,” he said, eliciting claps in the chamber.

“And I pledge that I will fight every single day with every ounce of my being to deliver for the great people of New York’s 19th district and renew trust and faith in our nation,” he added.

Sempolinski was elected to finish former Rep. Tom Reed’s (R-N.Y.) term. Reed resigned from office in May, more than a year after he was accused of sexual misconduct by a lobbyist.

The new congressman remarked on the short amount of time that he will serve in the chamber this term — just four months.

“Over the last few months I’ve been repeatedly asked ‘why would you run when you’d only serve for four months?’ My answer has been, ‘it would be an honor to serve for four minutes,’” he said in remarks on the House floor Tuesday.

“Most people in history have had to live their lives under despots and tyrants — but not here, not in America. That is the freedom our ancestors purchased for us at such great cost. We choose who speak for us. To do so is a sacred thing,” he added.

Updated at 8:41 p.m.