Signs were strong on Thursday that the last undecided U.S. House race in the nation was on the periphery of being decided.
As of Thursday, Republican former Rep. Claudia Tenney was increasing the lead in New York’s 22nd District (upstate) that she has held since election eve back in December.
After weeks of maintaining a lead of 29 votes out of more than 395,000 cast, Tenney made a net gain on Wednesday of 93 votes that increased her lead over Democrat Rep. Anthony Brindisi to 122.
The new vote totals came from Oneida County, the Board of Elections of which had been ordered by State Supreme Court Judge Scott Del Conte to go through 1,028 affidavit ballots— a New York term for provisional ballot — which are used to record a vote when there are questions about a voter’s eligibility that must be resolved before that vote can be counted.
According to Empire State sources, there are 50 of the affidavit ballots in Oneida that remain to be counted.
For their part, Republicans and members of the New York Conservative Party, whose “Row C” ballot line Tenney also carried, have been saying for weeks that Tenney was already the winner and should be certified so she can take the oath of office.
Many told us they hope the official certification of Tenny comes through next week so that she can take the oath of office on her birthday, Feb. 4.
“For Claudia it’s first and goal at the two yard line,” Conservative Party State Chairman Gerard Kasser told Newsmax. “She will once again be Congresswoman Tenney and House Republicans a vote closer to being in the majority.”
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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