NY-22: A Potential Comeback?

Former Upstate New York Congressman Richard Hanna (R-Barneveld) made statements yesterday suggesting he is contemplating an attempt to re-claim the seat he vacated last year largely because he is so at odds with the new member replacing him, freshman Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-New Hartford).  Saying that he didn’t leave the Republican Party, but that the Party left him, Mr. Hanna indicated he is considering entering the race as a minor party nominee.  In New York, a candidate can appear on more than one ballot line, so winning the Independence Party nomination, for example, may be the former Representative’s best ballot option.
 
Running as a third party candidate will be difficult in this situation because the Democrats are filing at least one active candidate, college professor and computer scientist Patrick Madden.  With Hanna moving left, the presence of a credible Democratic candidate may actually make Rep. Tenney’s re-election strategy easier to devise and implement.  With Hanna and Madden potentially draining each other of votes, Rep. Tenney’s conservative/Republican coalition would likely be large enough, in and of itself in this district, for her to secure another term.

--Jim Ellis