Rep. Claudia Tenney sworn into office to represent NY-22 in Congress

Washington – Claudia Tenney took the oath of office in the House chamber this morning, officially ending an epic election battle against Anthony Brindisi that lasted for three months after the Nov. 3 election.

Tenney, R-New Hartford, stood on the House floor just after 9 a.m. and raised her right hand as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi administered the oath.

The ceremony, which lasted less than a minute, made Tenney the 211th Republican House member. Pelosi has a thin majority, with 221 Democrats.

Three seats are open: Two Republicans have died since the start of the new Congress on Jan. 3 and one Democrat resigned to take a position in President Joe Biden’s administration.

Tenney will be serving her second term representing the 22nd Congressional District in Congress. Brindisi, D-Utica, unseated her in the 2018 election, winning by about 4,000 or less than 2% of the ballots cast in the election.

After a three-month legal battle over disputed ballots in the eight-county 22nd Congressional District, a judge ordered counties to certify Tenney as the winner by 109 votes, or less than 0.5% of the vote.

It was the second-closest House race in the nation last year, and the last election to be decided.

Mariannette Miler-Meeks won a House seat from Iowa by six votes over Democrat Rita Hart and was sworn into office in January. Hart has filed a request for a recount in that election.

New York’s 22nd district spans all of Madison, Oneida, Cortland and Chenango counties and parts of Oswego, Broome, Herkimer, and Tioga counties.