A week after Election Day, the race for New York’s 22nd Congressional District seat is too close to call and may not be decided anytime soon.
As of Nov. 14, Democrat Anthony Brindisi holds a 1,293-vote lead over incumbent Claudia Tenney — a first-year Republican who got support from President Donald Trump, his son Donald Trump Jr. and White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
As it stands, Brindisi holds 117,931 votes – or 49.51 percent of the total vote – compared to Tenney’s 116,638 votes, or 48.97 percent of the total.
Widespread media reports indicate there are approximately 17,000 absentee, military and affidavit ballots that need to be counted before a winner will be decided. Those are reportedly impounded and counting began Wednesday morning.
“This race remains too close to call,” Tenney posted on her facebook page on the morning after the election. “This race will be decided when all the votes have been counted, and we will continue to work with our legal team and the electoral boards in each county to ensure the votes are counted accurately and fairly.”
According to state Board of Elections numbers, which are still unofficial, Tenney won five counties in the sprawling district, which runs from the Pennsylvania border to lake Ontario in central New York. She won Chenango, Herkimer, Madison, Oswego and Tioga counties. But Brindisi won in Broome and Oneida counties, which include the population centers of Binghamton and Utica-Rome.
“When the absentee ballots get their final tally, I am positive our strong lead stands and our resounding message amplifies,” Brindisi wrote in a Nov. 7 facebook post.
