Anthony Brindisi has an insurmountable lead over Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-New Hartford) and declared victory again Tuesday in the race for New York's 22nd Congressional District.
The Democrat held a lead over Tenney of nearly 4,000 votes at the end of the day Tuesday. Only 1,881 absentee ballots are left to be counted in Oneida County, which will take a few more days to finish. Even if Tenney were to win every ballot, she would not catch Brindisi.
Brindisi declared victory on election night, but the race was too close to call, with Brindisi leading Tenney by just 1,293 votes. But as absentee ballots were counted in the eight county district, Brindisi's lead widened.
Brindisi said in a statement Tuesday that he looks forward to serving his constituents in Washington now that the campaign is over.
"As I said on Election night, I’ll work to be a representative for our entire community," he said. "I’m humbled that I’ll have the honor to represent this district in Congress. Now that this campaign is behind us, I look forward to a smooth transition with Congresswoman Tenney to ensure that we hit the ground running in January."
Tenney has not conceded. A winner won’t be officially declared until state election officials certify the final results.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
