Democrats in the 19th Congressional District, Republicans in the 24th District and Democrats in the 52nd state Senate District nominated their candidates Tuesday for election in November.
It was the second primary this year. In June, voters nominated candidates for governor, lieutenant governor, federal Senate and state Assembly. However, problems and delays with redistricting based on the 2020 Census delayed new district boundaries for state Senate and for Congress.
Now, Cortland County will be included in the 19th Congressional District in January, ranging from Tompkins County to the Massachusetts border. It will be in the 52nd state Senate District, including Tompkins and western Broome counties.
For the next two years, it will be bisected between the 125th Assembly District, centered around Tompkins County, and the 131st Assembly District, ranging from Canandaigua to northern and eastern Cortland County, western Chenango County and south into northeastern Broome. However, those districts were invalidated earlier this year, but too late to change them for the 2022 election.
In the second primary in New York this year, unofficial results showed:
19TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT
Democrat Josh Riley, a Tompkins County lawyer and Endicott native, led Jamie Cheney of Millerton in Dutchess County with all 850 election districts reporting, 30,462 to 17,474.
In Cortland County, with all 51 election districts reporting, the tally was 1,279 for Riley and 348 for Cheney, the Cortland County Board of Elections reports. In Tompkins, it was 6,609 for Riley and 3,304 for Cheney.
Riley is a lawyer living in Ithaca who grew up in Endicott. He was general counsel to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. Cheney is a farmer and business owner who lives in Millerton in the Hudson Valley
The winner will face Republican Marc Molinaro, who was unopposed for the nomination.
The new district includes Cortland, Tompkins, Broome, Tioga, Chenango, Delaware, Greene, Columbia, Sullivan and parts of Ulster and Otsego counties.
24TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT
With 479 of 531 districts reporting, Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-Oneida) led with 17,277 votes in what would be a different district for her, to 12,988 votes for Mario Fratto and 1,891 votes for George K. Phillips.
In Cayuga County, with all 47 election districts reporting, the tally was 1,591 for Tenney, 836 for Fratto and 136 for Phillips.
Tenney now represents the 22nd District, and does not live in 24th District. Fratto, of Geneva, is a business owner. Phillips of the town of Union primaried Tenney 2016 and 2020, losing both times. He is an educator, but does not maintain a campaign website.
The winner will face Democrat Steven Holden, who was unopposed for the nomination.
The district encompasses Cayuga, Genesee, Livingston, Ontario, Seneca, Wayne, Wyoming, and Yates counties, and parts of Jefferson, Orleans, Oswego and Niagara.
52ND STATE SENATE DISTRICT
In complete but unofficial results, Democrat Lea Webb of Binghamton took 10,976 votes to 6,953 votes for Leslie Danks Burke of Ithaca.
In Cortland County, the tally with all districts reporting was 1,029 for Webb and 455 for Danks Burke, the Cortland County Board of Elections reports. In Tompkins the count with all districts reporting had Webb leading 5,692 to 4,208.
Webb is a former Binghamton city councilmember and a Southern Tier native. She graduated from SUNY Broome and Binghamton University with a degree in neuroscience. She is now a diversity education coordinator at Binghamton University, developing training and programs for faculty, staff and students. She is a national trainer with Vote Run Lead, teaching women how to run for elective office, and co-founder of the Black Millennial Political Convention and a Founding Board Member of Local Progress.
Danks Burke, a lawyer, ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2012 and the state Senate in 2020. She teaches in Cornell University’s Law School and is a founder and president of the Trailblazers PAC.
Webb will face former Binghamton mayor Rich David, a Republican, who was unopposed for the nomination.
The election this November has great stakes for all New Yorkers. We can no longer afford to live under One-Party Rule that has driven up the cost of living and fostered an increase in violent crime in our communities.
The district includes Cortland, Tompkins and western Broome counties.
