The Cortland County Democratic Committee announced Monday it has voted to endorse Sarah Klee Hood in the Democratic primary for Congress in the 22nd Congressional District.
Hood, a DeWitt town councilor and Air Force veteran, faces Utica University history Professor Clemmie L. Harris and state Sen. John W. Mannion (D-Syracuse).
The winner of the June 25 primary will go on to face incumbent Rep. Brandon Williams (R-Sennett).
Hood won the endorsement on the first round of balloting undertaken by committee members of the Cortland County Democratic Committee following a series of interview sessions with all candidates who were circulating petitions seeking to secure the Democratic Party’s ballot line. Committee members spent an hour with each candidate asking them to share their positions on a range of issues important to Cortland County, from rural transportation and health care to immigration and inflation.
About half of Cortland County’s towns are included in New York’s new 22nd Congressional District, which were finalized earlier this year. The city of Cortland; towns of Cortlandville, Homer, Scott, Preble, Truxton and Cuyler; along with the villages of Homer and McGraw now lie within the district, along with all of Onondaga and Madison counties and parts of Oneida and Cayuga counties.
The rest of Cortland County’s towns are in the 19th District, where Democrat Josh Riley earned the committee’s endorsement unanimously in March to face incumbent Rep. Marc Molinaro (R-Red Hook).
