Jul 3

Jul 3 NY-22 Minute: Broome County DA Steve Cornwell Joins NY-22 Race By Luke Perry

Steve Cornwell declared his candidacy Tuesday for the Republican nomination in NY-22. Cornwell joins candidates George Phillips and Franklin Sager.

Cornwell was elected District Attorney of Broome County in 2015. Earlier this year he announced he would not run for re-election, believing “it would be dishonest to run for another four-year term, which I do not intend to complete or to exploit the power of the District Attorney’s Office to advance personal goals.”

Cornwell’s tenure as District Attorney has focused heavily on addressing the opioid epidemic. Drug-related overdoses have declined in recent years.

Cornwell previously worked for a private law practice in Binghamton and served as a Broome County prosecutor from 2007 to 2009.

Cornwell made the announcement before 100 supporters at the Holiday Inn in Binghamton, “during a highly produced event featuring a recorded announcer introduction, music and videos of Old Glory flapping in the wind.”

Cornwell described himself as an “outsider” similar to previous NY-22 GOP Congresswoman Claudia Tenney. He did not worry whether or not he receives support from party leadership.

Tenney has been a vocal critic of Representative Anthony Brindisi in potentially laying the groundwork for another Congressional candidacy. She recently resumed her political commentary on Twitter and began hosting a weekly political talk radio program, “The Hard Truth” on WUTQ in Utica.

Cornwell’s campaign website discusses his work as District Attorney, including addressing opioids, hiring school resource officers in public schools, and developing positive community relations.

Cornwell discussed inaction in Washington in declaring his candidacy. “There’s a humanitarian crisis at the border that nobody can deny, and there’s no action,” said Cornwell. “They’re running things. Fix it.”

Broome County is the second most populated county in the 8 country NY-22 Congressional district. Cornwell said he intends to spend many weekends campaigning in the northern portion of the district.

Since the 2010 redistricting, all three NY-22 representatives have come from Oneida County, the most populated in the district. Broome County is the only county where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans (+4,585 as of February 2019).

Broome County was an important piece to Brindisi’s election last fall, where he replicated the 2016 success of Kim Myers, the Democratic candidate who is from the county.

Luke Perry (@PolSciLukePerry) is Professor of Government at Utica College

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