Former State Sen. Cathy Young said today she will not compete for the open seat in the new 23rd Congressional District, strengthening the bid by Rep. Claudia Tenney of the Utica area to become the Republican candidate.
Young told The Buffalo News on Wednesday that she had received an "overwhelming outpouring of support" from a variety of people urging her to run, but decided against seeking the Southern Tier seat being vacated by the retiring Rep. Tom Reed, R-Corning.
"Representing the Southern Tier in the state Senate for so many years, and deeply understanding and fighting on behalf of our people and communities in Western New York has been the greatest honor of my life," Young said. "I will not be a candidate in 2022 because the timing is not right for me, and instead will continue to focus on advancing economic development and job opportunities across the state through my position at Cornell University.”
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After failing in a bid to become Senate minority leader in 2019, the Olean Republican resigned to become executive director of the Center of Excellence for Food and Agriculture at the Cornell University facility in Geneva.
Young had been viewed as a major figure in the competition for the new seat, especially given a long record of representing the area in both the Assembly and Senate. As recently as Tuesday, sources close to the situation noted she was calling in search of the party support needed for a race. Indeed, most Republican leaders viewed her as the favorite until Tenney said Monday she would move into the district to run.
Though others have also expressed interest in the newly reapportioned district, Tenney now appears to dominate the race after congressional mapmakers drew unfavorable lines for her current, Utica-based territory. An attorney and small business owner, she is 60 years old and lives in New Hartford, Oneida County. She won the congressional election in New York's current 22nd District in 2016, only to lose it two years later. But in 2020, she reclaimed the seat in a narrow victory over Democratic Rep. Anthony Brindisi.
Tenney's current district stretches from Oswego in the north through Binghamton and to the Pennsylvania line. The new 23rd District, in contrast, features a familiar horizontal orientation, but is larger than the current territory.
Tenney now faces the major challenge of introducing herself to much of Western New York, in a new district that includes Hamburg, Orchard Park and the rest of the Erie County Southtowns.
Tenney also enters the 23rd District race with one huge advantage: $1.15 million in her campaign account. That caused Joe Sempolinski, a former aide to Reed who announced his candidacy for the seat several months ago, to withdraw early in the week.
State Sen. George Borrello, an Irving Republican, has also indicated his interest, but has adopted a "wait and see" position since Tenney's announcement.
