ALBANY — Former U.S. Rep. Claudia Tenney claimed victory Monday in the election for New York's 22nd Congressional District, the last undecided congressional race from the November 2020 election.

Following a court ruling Monday Tenney, a Republican, claimed a 123 vote lead over incumbent Anthony Brindisi, a Democrat, but representative from the two campaigns released competing press releases following the decision.

It is likely the race will remain contested in the days to come, no winner has yet been certified. Read the statements from the campaigns below.

Claudia Tenney’s campaign released the following statement:

Tenney wins race for NY22 by 123 vote margin following final canvass

“Anthony Brindisi’s team of D.C. lawyers is trying to stop counties in New York’s 22nd District from certifying the results of this race, which Claudia Tenney won by 123 votes. Anthony Brindisi’s campaign refuses to accept the outcome of this election and its baseless, last-minute request to block certification of the results is depriving the 22nd District of representation in Congress.”

“Boards of Elections in all eight counties completed their court-ordered canvass yesterday. Republican candidate Claudia Tenney prevailed in that process. It’s time for Anthony Brindisi’s Washington operatives to accept the results and stop playing politics with the integrity of our elections.”

“Court proceedings in the race began more than 90 days ago, and Claudia Tenney has led in the vote count every step of the way. The court’s review has been thorough, transparent, and fair to all parties. Ballots have been scrutinized and we are confident all legal votes have been counted.”

Anthony Brindisi's campaign released the following statement:

“Brindisi campaign statement on ongoing ballot count in NY22”

 

"The voters of New York's congressional district decide who represents them, not Claudia Tenney. With a margin between the two candidates of less than .04%, the courts must make sure the voters of New York’s 22nd congressional district receive a complete and fair counting of all lawful votes. We are pleased that the Supreme Court issued a temporary stay of Oneida County’s certification in order to ensure the legal system has a full opportunity to review the many issues in this election. We look forward to continuing the legal process and remain confident that once this is resolved, Anthony Brindisi will be declared the winner and returned to Congress to continue his important work for the voters of NY-22,"said Luke Jackson, Brindisi for Congress Spokesman.

 “Background:

The count is not certified.

This is the initial count, not a recount.

Both campaigns have appealed the Court’s decisions and those appeals have not been heard.

Tenney tried to prevent legally cast ballots from being counted and is trying to disenfranchise voters:- A ballot of a legal voter who changed her last name (for example through marriage) but remained registered to vote.

A ballot marked with a small stain on the back of it--Tenney argues that the ballot should be thrown out because her team claims the stain is identifying genetic material even though it is not clear what the material is.

Absentee ballots where voters adhered to the NYSBOE guidance and dropped their ballot off at an - - Early Voting or Election Day polling location.

Ballots that, according to sworn testimony from multiple election workers, were timely cast and received by the county but were stamped with an inaccurate timestamp.

Ballots with stray markings - Tenney argued that a ballot is invalid because a voter underlined the word “two” in the instructions provided on the ballot

Tenney has consistently undermined the integrity of the election and her legal team sought to suppress legal votes:

Tenney’s claim that dead people were voting received a “pants on fire” from Politifact NY.

Tenney and her allies claim fraud and make false accusations in order to raise money despite Justice DelConte saying “To be clear, there is absolutely no evidence or even an allegation before this court of any fraud on the part of the boards or the campaigns.”

In court, Tenney’s team argued for an incomplete and inaccurate vote total to be certified as the result because she was ahead.

When Anthony Brindisi led in the contest, Tenney’s camp claimed. “the law was not followed when ballots were challenged and tabulated in this election.” Shortly after she reclaimed a slim lead, the Tenney team argued for certification immediately.”

-Tyler Murphy, Sun Managing Editor