Former Democratic Congressman Anthony Brindisi announced on Thursday that he will not be running for reelection against Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-New Hartford) in 2022.
In a statement, Brindisi said commuting to Washington D.C. put a strain on his family life during his time in Congress. As his son enters high school and his daughter wraps up elementary school, Brindisi said home is where he needs to be right now.
“Spending time commuting to and from Washington, DC each week took its toll on me, and took me away from Erica, Anthony, Jr., and Lily at such an instrumental time in my kids’ lives,” he said.
Brindisi said this decision comes with “relief and a little bit of sadness,” but that he’s proud of the 12 bills he got passed during his two years in the House.
This decision came after one of the closest congressional races in the U.S. during 2020’s election cycle. By a mere 109 votes, Brindisi lost New York’s 22nd Congressional seat in February–three months after election day.
New York recently lost one congressional seat after the latest census and as a result, the state is slated to be redistricted, but Brindisi isn’t sure whether or not that will play to his party’s benefits.
“I don't know what the district's going to look like and I haven't heard from others that may be interested in running,” he said. “But there's a lot of time for campaigning ahead and I'll be interested to see who comes forward on the Democratic side and what happens in the race next year for Congress.”
While Brindisi is excited to step back and spend more time with his family, he said running again further down the road is not out of the question.
“I definitely would not rule it out,” he said.
