‘It Only Took 94 Days’ McCarthy Congratulates Tenney on 15th GOP Seat Flip After Victory in the NY-22 Race

Last Friday, we reported that Republican Claudia Tenney’s lead over Democrat Anthony Brindisi had grown to 122 votes in the then undecided 22nd District New York House race and it appeared that a final result was imminent.

It took a week, but Tenney has now been declared the winner by New York State Supreme Court Judge Scott DelConte, who ruled that Tenney defeated Brindisi by a final margin of 109 votes.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) issued congratulations to Tenney and said, “It only took 94 days, but Claudia Tenney has finally been declared the winner in #NY22. It’s about time.”

“That’s the 15th House seat that Republicans flipped, and she joins 18 other women to set the record for our largest female freshman class ever,” McCarthy exclaimed, “Congratulations, Claudia!”

It only took 94 days, but Claudia Tenney has finally been declared the winner in #NY22. It’s about time.

That’s the 15th House seat that Republicans flipped, and she joins 18 other women to set the record for our largest female freshman class ever. Congratulations, Claudia!

— Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) February 5, 2021

Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) also offered her praise for Tenney and said, “Congratulations, Claudia Tenney! I look forward to working with you in Congress!”

Congratulations, @claudiatenney!

I look forward to working with you in Congress!https://t.co/RKGFahMWWF

— Marjorie Taylor Greene 🇺🇸 (@mtgreenee) February 6, 2021

Brindisi, however, doesn’t appear ready to give up and DelConte pointed out that he can contest the results directly to the House of Representatives under the Federal Contested Elections Act, once Tenney is certified as the winner.

DelConte rebuked Brindisi’s attorneys and said, “You’ve asked me to stop public bodies from doing their job. That’s what you’ve asked me to do: Stop an election. And that’s a very, very high burden. You must show irreparable harm.”

In a four part tweet, Brindisi said, “I am shocked and surprised by this decision because of the countless errors and discrepancies that have occurred throughout this initial count. I believe a full audit and hand recount is the only way to resolve this race.”

“With the margin so thin, the ever changing tally, and the countless errors that have occurred arriving at today’s final number we can’t afford to wonder here. We have to get it right,” Brindisi continued.

Despite local election officials previously finding some “mislaid ballots” Brindisi insisted, “Because this is not a raffle, this is a congressional election. The law that took effect January 1 says we should abide by hand counts whenever the margin is 0.5% or less— it’s even closer here right now.”

“Let’s follow that rule, get this right for our constituents and count all the 325,000-plus votes. It’s shocking, right now, no one knows who actually won this race. My opponent and I deserve true clarity,” Brindisi concluded.

Twitter user “Jack” called out Brindisi over his refusal to concede and deadpanned, “You’re inciting a riot sir.”

Youre inciting a riot sir.

— Jack (@arity2020) February 6, 2021

Tenney issued a statement where she said, “I’m honored to have won this race. It was a hard-fought campaign and I thank Anthony Brindisi for his service.”

“Now that every legal vote has been counted, it’s time for the results to be certified. The voters need a voice in Congress, and I look forward to getting to work on behalf of New York’s 22nd Congressional District,” Tenney added.

After 94 days of hard fought election process, I am grateful to the voters and supporters for having once again the privilege of serving our community in the #HouseofRepresentatives. #NY22 pic.twitter.com/63wkBryCJZ

— Claudia Tenney (@claudiatenney) February 5, 2021