BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Republican voters in New York’s 24th Congressional District will see a familiar clash in Tuesday’s primary.
Claudia Tenney, who has served two separate terms in Congress since 2017, will face lawyer and businessman Mario Fratto, whom she defeated two years ago in the Republican primary with just under 54% of the vote .
The district was redrawn for 2022 and occupies part of Niagara County, as well as Orleans, Wyoming and Genesee counties, among other areas of central and northern New York.
Tenney has been endorsed by former President Donald Trump and recently wrote a letter to New York Governor Kathy Hochul asking her to pardon the former president following his conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records during of his secret trial.
“I’ve been a lawyer, a partner in my law firm, I’ve run our family business, we still have our family business,” Tenney said at a rally in Lockport on Monday. “I served in the Legislature and now I’m doing this because I believe so much in our country and that we need to take our country back.”
According to his website, Fratto “fights for term limits, parental rights, traditional values, religious freedom, the security of our borders and against all mandates,” and added “we can defeat the D.C. cartel and finally return power to the people as our founders intended.
Tenney was first elected to Congress in 2016 and served one term before being defeated by Democrat Anthony Brindisi in 2018, later defeating him in a rematch in 2020 by just over 100 votes in a close race. She defeated Democrat Steven Holden in 2022.
The presumptive Democratic nominee is Waterloo newcomer David Wagenhauser, although the district is heavily red.
Longtime lawmaker faces challenger in 147th District
In the New York State Assembly, David DiPietro, a longtime Republican from East Aurora, faces a challenge in the primary from Erie County Sheriff’s Office Chief Mitch Martin.
DiPietro, 64, has served in the state Assembly since 2013 in the 147th District, which includes most of southern Erie County as well as Wyoming County.
According to Martin’s LinkedIn page, he served as a community representative for State Senator Pat Gallivan from 2012 to 2020, community relations director for former Congressman Chris Jacobs in 2020 and 2021, and campaign manager for the successful re-election of Sheriff John Garcia. campaign in 2021.
“I’m running to bring new opportunity, growth and prosperity to our region, a region that you and I both know is poised for excellence,” reads Martin’s campaign website. “The 147th District has unfortunately been neglected over the past decade. Besides the bluster on social media and voting no on anything and everything, our current representation is nowhere to be found. They are not present in our communities and achieving tangible results to set our region up for success.
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Aidan Joly joined the News 4 team in 2022. He is a graduate of Canisius College. You can see more of his work here.
