The 2022 primaries are coming up: Who do you plan to vote for?
Next question: Do you know what district you live in and who is running in that district?
Don’t feel bad if you don’t know; there’s reason to be confused.
New York has two upcoming primary elections: June 28 and Aug. 23. Between Census-mandated redrawing of state, federal and municipal legislature districts, challenges to those maps and more re-drawing, primaries for Congress and the state Senate have been delayed until Aug. 23. However, primaries for statewide races and the state Assembly remain June 28.
If you go to the state Board of Elections website, you’ll find conflicting information — two sets of candidates seeking the state Senate and Congressional nominations, one in June, and one in August.
The August list is correct. State elections officials said the June list was left on the site because the state and court rulings allowed candidates who had collected all the necessary petition signatures, done the paperwork and survived all the challenges to remain on the ballot, even though the districts they might run in could change.
The old information was to show who had access. In fact, candidates still have until the end of next week to file paperwork to run for the August primaries, if they had not already been assured ballot access.
Cortland County elections officials expect a lot of phone calls.
“People who don’t follow this intently will have the potential for confusion,” said Elections Commissioner Tom Brown, a Democrat, in a joint interview with Republican Elections Commissioner Bob Howe. “It has certainly been a roller coaster.”
The changes, while causing confusion during the primary season, do offer advantages in representation, said Connie White, the Cortland County Republican Committee chairwoman. The county will have one member of Congress and one state senator representing it.
“Previous to that, we thought we were going to have two districts: two state senators and two congressmen,” White said Wednesday. “How these campaigns will be run by these candidates will be determined by the candidates. It’s certainly better than what was put forward before this. It’s been hard on Republicans.”
But that does mean Cortland County will need to work with parts of the state it hasn’t had to work with before, said Democratic Committee Chairman Tim Perfetti.
“We are going to now be sharing a congressman with a lot of counties that we don’t know a lot about each other over the course of not just the election cycle but you know, the next two years, or 10 years,” Perfetti said. “We are going to learn a lot about regions in New York that maybe we don’t really consider ourselves affiliated with.”
So, just to clarify things, here are the decisions you get to make — if you’re enrolled as a Republican or Democrat — in the coming months. Others will have to wait until the November general election.
CONGRESS
The primary is Aug. 23.
Marcus Molinaro is the sole Republican candidate, although a week remains to file the appropriate paperwork. Brandon Buccola has declared his candidacy, but hasn’t yet completed paperwork to run in the 19th District.
Pat Ryan of Ulster County and Josh Riley of Tompkins County seek the Democratic nomination.
The district, which stretches from Tompkins and Tioga counties east to Massachusetts, including Binghamton and part of Dutchess County, has a slight Democratic advantage.
Molinaro was elected as Dutchess County’s seventh county executive in November 2011, according to a biography on the Dutchess County website. At 36, he took office as the youngest county executive in county history. He was re-elected for a third term in 2019.
He was first elected to public office at the age of 18 in 1994, serving on the village of Tivoli Board of Trustees. In 1995, he became the youngest mayor in the United States. He was re-elected mayor five times and elected four times to the Dutchess County Legislature. In 2006, he was elected to represent the 103rd Assembly District.
Ryan, a decorated combat veteran and small businessman, was first elected Ulster County executive in 2019, according to the Newpolitics website. He attended West Point and served two combat tours in Iraq as an Army intelligence officer. After leaving the military, he founded a small technology company, which he grew to over 150 employees. Ryan managed a $25 million annual budget and worked to build partnerships with government and nonprofit organizations.
Riley got his start in public service as a staff assistant in Rep. Maurice Hinchey’s office, according to his campaign website. He later served as a policy analyst at the U.S. Department of Labor and after receiving his law degree and worked as general counsel to U.S. Sen. Al Franken on the Senate Judiciary Committee. The Endicott native lives in Ithaca.
STATE SENATE
The primary will be Aug. 23. This race, Cortland County elections officials note, can be confusing. Like the Congressional districts, these were re-drawn following a lawsuit alleging gerrymandering. However, the data on the state Board of Elections website still includes the out-of-date information, in addition to accurate information.
All of Cortland County moved into the 52nd District from the 51st. The 52nd district includes all of Cortland and Tompkins, and the western side of Broome County. Its incumbent, Fred Akshar, is not seeking re-election.
Two Democrats seek the nomination, former Binghamton council member Lea Webb and Tompkins County lawyer Leslie Danks Burke.
On the Republican side, former Binghamton Mayor Rich David is the sole candidate, although potential candidates have until Friday to complete the paperwork in that race.
Democrats have an eight-point advantage in the newly drawn district.
STATE ASSEMBLY
The primary will be June 28. The 125th District doesn’t change from its prior boundaries, and incumbent Democrat Anna Kelles faces neither a primary nor a general election challenge.
The district, which includes all of Tompkins County, plus Cortlandville, Cortland, Virgil, Harford and Lapeer in Cortland County, gives Democrats an 18-point advantage, making any candidacy by a Republican a greater challenge.
The rest of Cortland County moves from the 126th District, represented by Republican John Lemondes Jr., of Lafayette, to the 131st District. That district, which also includes parts of Broome, Cayuga, Chenango, Madison, Ontario and Seneca counties, stretches from Geneva to Pharsalia. In it, Republicans have a six-point advantage. The only candidate there is Republican incumbent Jeff Gallahan of Clifton Springs.
STATEWIDE
The primary will be June 28, when three Democrats and four Republicans will seek the nomination for governor.
Among the Democrats, incumbent Gov. Kathy C. Hochul faces challenges from Rep. Thomas R. Suozzi of Nassau County and New York City Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams.
Among the Republicans, former Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino will face Andrew Giuliani, Harry Wilson and Rep. Lee Zeldin of Suffolk County.
Three Democrats seek the nomination for lieutenant governor: incumbent Antonio Delgado, who left Congress recently after being appointed lieutenant governor, former New York City Council member Diana Reyna and activist Ana Maria Archila.
Staff reporters Yuner Gao and Kevin Limiti, City Editor Kevin Conlon and Managing Editor Todd R. McAdam contributed to this report.
