NY-22: Tenney Weighs In On November Scenarios Post-Primary

NEW HARTFORD, N.Y. - Assemblywoman Claudia Tenney was upbeat and positive when she voted for herself this afternoon in the Republican primary for New York’s 22nd congressional district.

Tenney is running against Rep. Richard Hanna, who has held the seat since 2011. Tenney voted at St. George’s Orthodox Church in New Hartford, her hometown. 

After having been yelled at by polling officials for posing for a picture with her ballot, Tenney said win or lose, she’s enjoyed the campaign.

“I could get crushed today, but either way it has been an incredible experience,” Tenney said. “I think people are looking for a change in the status quo. I think they are not very happy with Washington. They would like to see a change and I don’t they’ve seen that with Richard Hanna.”

Tenney, who is backed by local and national Tea Party groups, has knocked Hanna throughout the campaign for his relatively moderate views. Hanna was ranked by The National Journal as the third most moderate Republican in Congress.

Even if Tenney wins today, the race may still not be over. Whoever prevails in the primary will not face a major party opponent, as no Democratic candidate filed to enter the race by the deadline, but Hanna already has the Independence Party line and could run again in November if he loses the primary.

If Tenney won and Hanna decided to stay in the race, she and Hanna would then have to court Democratic votes for the November general election—a scenario in which her conservative views could tip the scales to Hanna, even with him running as a third party candidate.

Hanna has not made any public comment as to whether he would fight on to November if Tenney were able to pull off a stunning upset.

Asked about this set of potential circumstances, Tenney said she has a lot of Democratic support from her state Assembly district.

“I don’t think [Democrats support me] because I’m conservative. I think people support me because they know I’m an honest broker and I’m honest about the policies I stand for and I’m trying to do what’s right,” Tenney said.

If Tenney loses, she still could run for reelection to her state Assembly seat, though she said she has not even considered that possibility.

“I haven’t even prepared a petition so if I were to do that I’ve got about two and half weeks to scramble to get 500 signatures,” she said. “Which isn’t that hard to do, honestly, but obviously I’d like to get the Conservative line for that as well. I know everyone else is circulating in the 101st Assembly district but I have not yet.”