Anthony Brindisi

Anthony Joseph Brindisi (born November 22, 1978) is an American politician serving as the U.S. Representative from New York's 22nd congressional district since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, his district extends from the east end of Lake Ontario through Central New York to the Pennsylvania border, including Utica, Rome, and Binghamton.

Brindisi served as the New York State Assemblyman for the Utica-based 119th district from 2011 to 2018. Prior to his election to the State Assembly, Brindisi served on the Utica School Board and practiced as an attorney. He defeated Republican incumbent Claudia Tenney in the 2018 election.

Early life and education

Brindisi was born in 1978 in Utica, New York, to Louis and Jacqueline Brindisi. He has five siblings. His mother died of cancer when he was four years old. He attended Mohawk Valley Community College before graduating from Siena College in 2000. Brindisi received his J.D. degree from Albany Law School of Union University, New York in 2004. He joined the law firm his father founded and later won a seat on the Utica School Board.

New York State Assembly

Following the appointment of Assemblywoman RoAnn Destito as Commissioner of the New York State Office of General Services, Brindisi won a special election to replace her to represent the 119th Assembly District, beating Republican Gregory Johnson on September 13, 2011. He was unopposed in the 2012 general election, running on the Democratic, Working Families Party, and Independence Party of New York State fusion ticket. He was also unchallenged in 2014 and 2016.

Brindisi voted against the NY SAFE Act, a 2013 gun control law written in response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. He was endorsed by the National Rifle Association in 2016, and the NRA also gave him a 100% rating in 2017. The NRA downgraded his rating to an F during his 2018 campaign for Congress.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2018

Brindisi announced that he would run for Congress in New York's 22nd congressional district, which was held by one-term Republican Claudia Tenney of nearby New Hartford. Tenney had served alongside Brindisi in the State Assembly from 2011 to 2017. Brindisi ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.

In the first two quarters of fundraising since July 2017, he raised $18,000 more than Tenney. At the end of 2017, Tenney had $573,486 in cash on hand but still owed $170,000 from her previous campaign. Brindisi ended 2017 with $581,851. He was endorsed by Tenney's predecessor, Richard Hanna, despite Hanna being a Republican.

Although some news agencies called the race for Brindisi on election day, there was a possibility that the 17,000 absentee and provisional ballots could affect the final outcome. As of November 8, 2018, Brindisi received 117,931 votes to Tenney's 116,638, a difference of 1,293 votes in Brindisi's favor. On November 19, 2018, with his lead by then having been extended to over 3,000 votes with only 5,548 absentee and affidavit ballots remaining to be counted, those mostly in Oneida County where Brindisi had led on election day, he declared victory. By November 20, his lead grew to over 3,900 votes, and there were not enough remaining absentee ballots for Tenney to close the gap.

On November 21, Tenney told local radio station WUTQ-FM that it was unlikely she would overtake Brindisi, and agreed to help with the transition. However, she stopped short of conceding, saying that she wanted to see every ballot counted. She formally conceded defeat a week later, on November 28. The 22nd voted for Donald Trump by a 15% margin over Hillary Clinton in 2016, the largest margin in any House district to change hands from a Republican to a Democrat in 2018.

Upon his swearing-in on January 3, 2019, Brindisi became only the second Democrat to represent this Utica-based district in 68 years, and the third in 119 years. The last Democrat to represent this district was Mike Arcuri, who represented what was then the 24th District from 2007 to 2011.

Committee assignments

• Committee on Agriculture
  • Subcommittee on Biotechnology, Horticulture, and Research
  • Subcommittee on Livestock and Foreign Agriculture
• Committee on Veterans' Affairs
  • Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity
  • Subcommittee on Health
• Armed Services Committee
  • Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces
  • Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces

Caucus memberships

• Blue Dog Coalition (Co-Chair for Whip)
• New Democrat Coalition

Electoral history

Personal life

Brindisi lives with his wife, Erica, and two children in Utica.