The Madison County Democratic Committee voted Monday to endorse DeWitt Town Councilor Sarah Klee Hood in the race for New York's 22nd Congressional District.

This is the first time in more than a decade that the committee has voted on a congressional designation.

Klee Hood won 62% of the vote, Committee Chair Liz Moran said Monday, besting state Sen. John Mannion, Utica University professor Clemmie Harris, and Oneida County farmer Jacob Addington.

“As someone who was raised off a country road in Bridgeport, I am proud that my Congressional campaign has earned the designation of the Madison County Democratic Committee,” Klee Hood said in a statement. “It’s the community here in Madison County - my teachers, the local farmers who were my family’s neighbors, and my parents’ union brothers and sisters who I met at the picket lines as a kid - who have shaped my commitment to service. I look forward to bringing my Madison County roots to Congress, where I will fight for a stronger local economy for the people of Madison County and all of NY-22: our family farmers, working people, and seniors.”

Klee Hood, an Air Force veteran, ran for the Democratic nomination for the district in 2022, finishing second to Francis Conole. Conole would go on to be defeated by Republican Brandon Williams in the general election. 

Last week, the Onondaga County Democratic Committee backed Mannion, setting up a potential primary battle in June. Anchored by the city of Syracuse, the Central New York district has been held by a Republican for nearly a decade, though it has comfortably voted Democratic at the presidential level over the last few cycles.

(Spectrum News 1 graphic)

The 22nd Congressional District includes all of Onondaga, Madison and Oneida counties, as well as a small sliver of Oswego County.

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