By Lauren Young
Staff writer
After more than three weeks of waiting for all ballots to be counted in the Congressional race for New York’s 22nd district, one-term incumbent Republican Rep. Claudia Tenney officially admitted defeat on Wednesday, Nov. 28.
In one of the closest Congressional races in this state’s election, Tenney conceded to Democratic opponent Anthony Brindisi after initially refusing to do so on Election Day, believing that the counting of absentee ballots could result in a win. However, upon counting those votes, Brindisi’s lead of 1,293 votes from election night jumped to about 4,000 votes over Tenney.
Though 1,881 votes are left to be counted in Oneida County, Brindisi’s strong lead over Tenney makes her chance of winning mathematically impossible.
“As the votes have been counted the last several weeks, it has become clear that while we remain on the right side of the issues and history, we came out on the wrong side of a very close race,” said Tenney in a statement. “Despite this setback, there is still a critical fight ahead for the heart and soul of this nation, and one which I will not give up. Serving Central New York in Congress has been a tremendous honor, I am proud of what we were able to accomplish for our area, and I am grateful to all the people who supported our campaign.”
Tenney said she will work with Brindisi to “ensure a smooth transition and good constituent services for the people of the 22nd District.”
“We should acknowledge when Congressman-elect Brindisi does the right thing for this district, but hold him accountable for every vote he takes to advance a liberal agenda that doesn’t help our community,” she said.
Upon the news of Tenney’s concession, Brindisi said he is “extremely proud of all the volunteers and supporters who helped make this historic win possible.”
“Our community needs an independent voice who will fight for everyone, and I’m humbled to have the opportunity to do that in Congress,” said Brindisi in a statement. “Now that the results are official, I’m looking forward to working with Representative Tenney to ensure a smooth transition on behalf of our constituents. This Congressional seat belongs to the people of Upstate New York. I’m excited to get to work putting their needs first.”
Brindisi will be sworn in on January 3.
