District Info.
New York’s 24th Congressional District comprises all or part of 11-counties in Central New York including Broome, Cayuga, Chenango, Cortland, Herkimer, Oneida, Ontario, Otsego, Seneca, Tioga and Tompkins counties. The large and geographically diverse district stretches north to Old Forge in the Adirondacks, west to the Finger Lakes region, and south to the outskirts of Binghamton and Ithaca.
The Erie Canal transversed the region and helped to build Central New York into the industrial engine of the United States. James Fennimore Cooper set his novels in the district’s Mohawk Valley. Baseball, America’s national pasttime, was first played in Cooperstown, now the site of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. In 1848, village of Seneca Falls gave birth to the Women’s Suffrage Movement.
The villages and towns of the 24th Congressional District thrived as manufacturing and agricultural centers for generations, attracting immigrants from all over the world. Recently, the dairy industry and heavy manufacturing have struggled to survive under the heavy regulations and taxes handed down from Albany and Washington.
The voters of Central New York and the 24th District are historically Republican, moderate and independent. Republican Sherwood Boehlert, who represented the region for over two decades, retired in 2006. In 2008, Richard Hanna ran on the Republican, Conservative, and Independence lines against incumbent Democrat Michael Arcuri. Despite being outspent by more than half a million dollars, Richard came within 2% of defeating the incumbent Democrat in the worst Republican year in decades. Richard’s race was the closest challenger race in the nation.
On January 20th, Richard announced his run for the 24th District Congressional seat. Since Richard’s entry into the race, Washington’s top political analysts have upgraded the race from ‘Lean Democrat’ to ‘Toss-up.’ Time Magazine featured New York-24 and Richard’s candidacy as one of the top 10 races of the year.
For more on the race, see:
