The 22nd Congressional District seat is up for grabs this November, and former Congresswoman Claudia Tenney is looking to get her position back after being unseated by Rep. Anthony Brindisi in 2018.
But first, Tenney must win the Republican nomination in a primary against George Phillips, a history teacher from the Southern Tier. Tenney defeated Phillips in the 2016 Republican primary for the same seat.
"I'm the perfect person for this. I'm a small business owner. I've been a compassionate advocate, independent in our communities," said Tenney.
The mother of a Marine, Claudia Tenney wants "economic empowerment" for everyone and to address "a cultural divide."
"What happened to George Floyd should not happen to anyone. It was an intentional killing. It was not accidental, and that should not happen to an American citizen. I don't care how bad George Floyd might have been. That was reprehensible, what happened. But robbing and looting our small business owners in the inner cities is the not the response, defunding the police is not the answer," she said.
Tenney supports President Donald Trump's executive order on police reform, but says more can be done, emphasizing the need for education.
"I don't believe erasing history is the answer," she said. "I think learning from our history, good or bad, helps us to understand the problems of the future and what we do."
Tenney says she helped create the first Bosnian newspaper in Utica, and publish the first Black-Latino newspaper in Syracuse.
When asked if she supports the Black Lives Matter movement, she said in part, "I'm not sure what Black Lives Matter is right now; the movement, and who's behind it. I think that all lives are important regardless of where they originated."
When it comes to COVID-19, Tenney wants business owners to have the freedom and resources to reopen and practice social distancing.
She wants the federal government to help New York state make up for losses caused by the pandemic.
"My biggest concern? I don't want it filtered through Governor Cuomo, and potentially going to his friends and family. I'd like to go to our local governments, our school districts, and everyone who has been hurt in our communities," she said.