By Jackson Harris ’22 and Eric Kopp ’22, Contributing Writers

Two tight political races are currently heating up in Central New York and Hamilton College is squarely in the middle of both. The College is located in New York’s 22nd Congressional District, which sends one representative to the U.S. House of Representatives. The seat for NY-22 is essentially a toss-up between first-term Republican incumbent Claudia Tenney and her challenger, moderate Democrat Anthony Brindisi.

Tenney, a strong advocate of small government, restricted immigration, and lower taxes, is lauded for her fiery brand of conservatism by many Republican New Yorkers. Described by one Republican strategist as “Trump before Trump,” she, like Trump, likes use incendiary rhetoric. During a radio interview on Fred Dicker’s “Focus on the State Capitol,” Tenney, a defiant proponent of the 2nd Amendment, asserted that “so many of these people that commit the mass murders end up being Democrats.”

In fact, Tenney and Brindisi have a great deal of commonality in their stances on gun rights. Brindisi has criticized gun reform efforts in New York, having voted against the NY SAFE Act in 2013. He also sports an “A” rating from the NRA.

Brindisi does stand with fellow Democrats, however, in his strong support of Obamacare. It’s one policy that he thinks might push the odds in his favor, after Tenney supported the American Health Care Act (AHCA), a bill that aimed to repeal Obamacare in March of 2017.

The race is receiving national attention because of its importance to the Democratic effort to flip the House of Representatives. It could be pivotal in the Democrats’ hunt to close the 43-seat gap between them and the Republicans in the House. Only 24 seats are required to flip the House in their favor, and Republicans will be trying just as hard here in NY-22 as in other tight races around the country.

A totally different fight is emerging in New York’s 53rd Senate District, which covers Hamilton College all the way to Syracuse in the west. Incumbent state Senator David Valesky is being challenged from the left by Syracuse University administrator Rachel May.

While both candidates and their viewpoints have similar goals, they are not always aligned. The anti-Trump movement is focused on calling out Trump and his allies, not necessarily pushing a more left-leaning, progressive platform. The progressive movement is focused on getting liberal accomplishments passed. However, some moderate Democrats pose a challenge to these reforms as well, and progressives have no qualms about calling them out for not supporting their goals.

These two movements are converging at Hamilton College, and we have a chance to be part of history. These two races might have implications for the decades to come, both at the state and federal levels.

To find out about voting in New York, visit

www.elections.ny.gov.

For more information about voting in your home state, visit your state election official’s website.