Three candidates running for one of the most competitive districts in the country – New York’s 22nd Congressional District

Incumbent Brandon Williams (R), John Mannion (D), and Christopher Gowett (independent) are running in the general election for New York’s 22nd Congressional District on Nov. 5.

The election for New York’s 22nd Congressional District is forecasted as one of the most competitive in the country. According to Politico, “The Cook Political Report has identified the district as the only Republican-held seat in the country that ‘leans Democrat,’ and Sabato’s Crystal Ball makes that one of only two GOP seats with the ‘lean Democratic’ label.” As of July 29, Democrats needed to gain six districts to win a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. The 22nd District is one of “an estimated six swing seats [in New York] this cycle.”

Voters first elected Williams to the district in 2022, where he won with 50.5% of the vote. Heading into the 2024 election, Roll Call ranked Williams the most vulnerable House incumbent.

Following the adoption of new congressional maps in February 2024, the district included all of Onondaga and Madison counties, and parts of Cayuga, Cortland, and Oneida counties. Syracuse University professor of political science Grant Reeher said parts of Oneida County—where Williams did well in 2022—were switched with more Democratic portions of Cayuga County. He added, “The most recent round of the tweaking of the districts makes this district look even more friendly to [D]emocrats, but it looked friendly to Democrats two years ago and a conservative Republican won.” Click here to see what the district looked like before and after redistricting.

Mannion, a state senator first elected in 2020, won election to a competitive district. Politico’s Bill Mahoney noted, “In 2018, [Mannion] launched the most serious campaign in generations by a Democrat in a long-time Republican stronghold, managed to flip the seat in 2020, and held on by 10 votes out of 123,000 cast in 2022.”

New York’s 22nd Congressional District is one of 34 congressional districts with a Republican incumbent or an open seat the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is targeting in 2024. To read about DCCC targeting initiatives, click here. For a complete list of DCCC targeted districts, click here.

Based on Quarter Two 2024 reports filed with the Federal Election Commission, Williams raised $2.7 million and spent $1.4 million and Mannion raised $1.2 million and spent $881,324. To review all the campaign finance figures in full detail, click here.

Williams has represented New York’s 22nd Congressional District since 2023. Williams described himself as a political outsider and said his priorities included lower energy costs, a secure border, public safety, good-paying jobs, and robust infrastructure projects.

Mannion has represented New York State Senate District 50 since 2020. Mannion said he would “bring down costs for working families, care for our veterans, improve public safety, provide world class education for our kids and guarantee a woman’s right to choose.”