New York state Sen. John Mannion, a Democrat, announced Thursday his bid for Congress in 2024.

The Central New York lawmaker will run for the state's 22nd Congressional District seat, currently held by Republican Brandon Williams.

The House district is made up of Onondaga, Madison and Oneida counties, as well as a sliver of Oswego County.

“I’m proud to officially announce my campaign for Congress to represent families across Central New York and the Mohawk Valley," Mannion said. "I grew up here, and Jennifer and I raised our kids here – but after three decades as a public-school science teacher and union president, I was tired of seeing our kids and our communities left behind. So I ran for the State Senate, and proved that when we bring together people in both parties, we can deliver real and lasting results for Upstate." 

Mannion is the second familiar face to jump into the race for the Democratic nomination. Sarah Klee Hood, a DeWitt town councilor who finished second in the Democratic primary for the same seat in 2022, is running again for the office.

Mannion was a public school teacher for 28 years before getting into politics. He first ran for the state Senate in 2018, seeking to fill the seat vacated by longtime Sen. John DeFrancisco. He narrowly lost that election to Republican Bob Antonacci. When Antonacci left the seat and was elected to a judgeship, Mannion ran for the seat again in 2020 and came out victorious. In Albany, he has served as chairman of the Senate Committee on Disabilities.

"We deserve to have a representative in Congress who will fight for us – not his Wall Street millionaire friends," Mannion said. "We deserve to have a leader in Congress who will work with Republicans and Democrats to create good paying jobs, bring down costs for working families, care for our veterans, improve public safety, and guarantee a woman’s right to choose.”

Should Mannion win the Democratic nomination, a showdown with Williams will be a closely watched contest. The 2022 race to succeed Rep. John Katko in the the purplish House district was expected to be a competitive one, and Williams narrowly won by 1.5 points over Democrat Francis Conole. Mannion is no stranger to close races. His 2020 and 2022 elections to the Senate were both verified weeks after Election Day, and he won his 2022 race by a mere 10 votes.

“The Democratic Primary in NY-22 is shaping up to be filled with candidates trying to out-left one another on policies that have delivered New York State the highest taxes in the union, unsafe streets, and an exodus of people out of state,” Williams said in a statement Thursday. “I will continue to honorably love and serve Central NY and the Mohawk Valley with common sense solutions to the complex issues our nation faces — bringing back manufacturing jobs, increased infrastructure funding, lowering energy costs, and protecting our local families.”

Since Republicans flipped several New York seats and gained a narrow majority in the House of Representatives last fall, the 22nd District will likely see major support and attention from both parties next year as control of the chamber could be in play once again.