ITHACA, NY (WSKG) - In a 102-7-7 vote Tuesday, the Tompkins County Democratic Committee voted to endorse Tracy Mitrano. In November, she hopes to make her second attempt at unseating Republican southern tier Rep. Tom Reed (R-NY).
Mitrano has won Democratic party endorsements in over half the district's counties. By unifying Democrats early, she hopes to better connect with voters in Tompkins County, as well as residents in Republican-leaning counties to the west.
"We care about people in Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua and so forth and that's what they're demonstrating here tonight is that we're all working together as a district and we're going to get the job done this time," Mitrano said after the vote.
Mitrano lost the 2018 midterm election, when she only carried Tompkins County. The Democrat hopes to correct that this year by better mobilizing volunteers and donors in areas where she underperformed.
Ithaca orthodontic surgeon Scott Noren also stood for endorsement, but received seven votes. Seven more committee members abstained.