New York's 24th Congressional District snakes its way along the shores of Lake Ontario all the way out to western New York. Republican Rep. Claudia Tenney currently holds that seat and she’s running for re-election. Two Democrats hoping to defeat her are running in the June 23 primary.
Alissa Ellman is an Army combat veteran, cancer survivor, and lifelong resident of Western New York. She said she lost her job at the Buffalo VA in the first round of cuts implemented by the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency last year.
"And that kinda lit a fire under my butt to run for Congress because I was so disappointed in the leadership ... that we currently have," Ellman said.
Ellman’s opponent in the Democratic primary is Diana Kastenbaum, the the former CEO of a manufacturing company in Genesee County, where she grew up and now lives.
Last year, Kastenbaum co-founded Concerned Citizens for NY-24. The group was a response to what she said are President Donald Trump’s actions against the Constitution and people’s rights. She said those actions are why she’s running for Congress.
"I have a purpose to make sure that I can get in there and hopefully fix or repair or start all over again all the damage that’s been done by the administration," Kastenbaum said.
Focused on affordability
Affordability is a big focus of both women’s campaigns. They each cite energy and child care costs as major issues for residents of NY-24.
Ellman said she wants to see scaling electric rates, where the less energy you use, the cheaper your rate is. And she said she thinks public school education should be extended down to age 2.
"I think that it’s because I care more about people than I care about data centers is why I care that we have affordable lives."
Kastenbaum said the cost of housing is a concern, but that the number one thing for her is health care. She said caring for her father and husband at the end of their lives shaped the changes she wants to see in the U.S. health system.
"We do need to be moving towards single-payer because health care costs are bankrupting families."
How to flip NY-24
The two candidates have different strategies for how they’re hoping to flip NY-24, which is rated as “solid Republican” by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. Incumbent Congresswoman Claudia Tenney won the district by more than 30 points in 2024.
Kastenbaum said she’s working to make in-roads with moderate Republicans, particularly farmers. She said she’s met with several who’ve been impacted by the Trump administration’s tariffs, immigration crackdown, and cuts to social safety net programs.
"But it’s taking a real...conscientious effort to go and sit down with them and listen to them," she said. "And they’re willing to talk to me, so that’s a good sign."
Ellman said she hopes to pull some Republicans disenchanted with Trump and Tenney, but her big plan is to actively pursue the nearly 141,000 independent voters in the district.
"My strategy for that is gonna be to knock every single independent door with a giant volunteer base," she said. "Most Democrats and Republicans do not knock on these people’s doors."
"A fighter" vs. "experience"
Ellman is billing herself as the candidate of values and character, who understands the voters in NY-24.
"I’m a fighter," she said. "I fought in Afghanistan against terrorists. I fought cancer, and won. And I’m gonna fight for the people in this district in a way that they’ve never had a congressperson fight for them before."
On why Democrats should send her to the general election, Kastenbaum said it’s her life experience that sets her apart.
"I come to the table with not only knowledge and expertise about subjects, but also curiosity to want to know. And I come to the table with a ton of business experience."
Both women said they’ll support whoever wins the Democratic primary, and that the main goal is flipping the seat and defeating Tenney.
