U.S. Rep. Tom Reed is confident “we could be in a position to know the results” on his three-way race election night.

He can’t say the same about the presidential race.

Reed, R-Corning, is challenged for a second time by Democrat Tracy Mitrano of Penn Yan. Libertarian candidate Andrew M. Kolstee is also on the ballot.

Reed told reporters Wednesday he anticipates the presidential race between President Donald Trump and Joe Biden “is going to be close,” and will come down to a half-dozen states. The recounts could take weeks and lead to a George W. Bush v. Al Gore situation, he said.

The 2000 presidential race between Bush and Gore was decided when the Supreme Court ended a recount of Florida’s ballots.

Counting absentee and military ballots won’t start for weeks in some states. Absentee ballots postmarked by Nov. 3 will be accepted in New York. Some states require absentee ballots to be received by Election Day.

The recanvasing and litigation associated with it could go on for some time, Reed warned.

“We’ll have a better sense on how long it will be” after Election Day and early votes are counted on Nov. 3, Reed said.

The results of early voting and Election Day voting in the 23rd Congressional District will be an indication of how many absentee votes would be needed to overcome returns from early and Election Day voting. Those absentee ballots often break similarly to the results at the polls.

Due to COVID-19 concerns, large numbers of voters in Cattaraugus County and others across the state have requested absentee ballots.

In the telephone press conference set up by the Reed campaign, Reed also expressed deep disappointment that Democrats and White House negotiators had been unable to agree on a $2 trillion COVID-19 stimulus/relief package.

Reed, co-chairman of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus in the House, had urged both sides to continue negotiating, even after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said it was not his priority.

Commenting that he was waiting for a call from Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin, Reed said that if the two sides couldn’t come with an agreement in the next few days, he doubted anything would happen until January or February.

The winner of the presidential race and who will control the Senate are also factors in when a stimulus bill will be voted on, he said.

“If people think the White House and Senate will flip, they will hold out,” Reed said.

“It’s a shame,” he continued. “A lot of people are suffering.” A plan B and C need to be developed, he added. “The focus is on politics.”

In May, House Democrats passed the HEROES Act, a $3 trillion stimulus package that McConnell refused to bring to the Senate floor for a vote. Last week, the president said he’d sign a $2 trillion stimulus before the election, but McConnell refused to budge.

Reed said his reading of the negotiations between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer and Mnuchin were that Pelosi and Schumer were the ones playing politics in the negotiations, holding out for a better offer.

Reed said he feels Pelosi and Schumer “were never going to do a deal. We should take care of the people and let politics take care of itself,” Reed said.

Post-election litigation over ballots may not only delay when the presidential race in the Electoral College is decided, but control of the Senate as well.

“The Senate is a close call, too,” Reed said.

Asked whether Reed thought Trump’s standing in the polls over his handling of the coronavirus would hurt his campaign, given his close association with the president. Reed replied that he didn’t think the president was polling badly in the district and that a COVID-19 vaccine is expected soon. Before the pandemic, Reed said Trump’s actions against China and the fight to bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. had been working.

The vaccine will enable the economy to get growing again and bring back manufacturing jobs, he said,

“I believe Republican policies are better for the country,” Reed said.

He said he was basing his campaign on 10 years of services to his congressional constituents and not just his response to COVID-19.

Reed, speaking from Corning said he and his wife and son voted Wednesday morning at a Steuben County early voting site, and encouraged others to vote early as well to avoid long lines on Election Day.

Reed said he will host a rally in Ithaca at 1:30 p.m. today “to stand up for free speech and freedom of expression at a time when political extremism is on the rise.” He cited a recent dust-up between a Republican rally in Ithaca and members of the Democratic Socialists of America earlier this month as the reason for the rally.

Last week Reed and other Republicans from the region including state Republican Chairman Nicholas Langworthy held an event outside Tompkins County Republican Headquarters to wash off graffiti and give speeches.

Reed also referenced a brick being thrown through the window of his Corning campaign office and an incident where his wife found a rat and a brick outside their Corning home which upset the entire family, he said.

“Hatred and violence is unacceptable,” Reed said.

(Contact reporter Rick Miller at rmiller@oleantimesherald.com. Follow him on Twitter, @RMillerOTH)