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Rep. Brandon Williams announced his re-election campaign standing between Syracuse and Utica at the Nothin’ Fancy Cafe in Verona on Tuesday. In 2022, New York’s 22nd Congressional District was one of the most competitive in the nation, and Williams started off his speech saying he’s often asked how he won both his primary and general election against Democratic opponent Francis Conole.

“The answer is you,” he told the crowd. “It’s because you desire something different. You desire political leaders that are answerable to the people … Your desire for a straight talk and for direct answers to the complex problems that we face in our country and region.”

During his speech, the congressman emphasized a need to cut down on inflation, ensure a tighter border between the United States and Mexico as well as create local manufacturing jobs.

In addition to touring Micron’s facility in Boise, Idaho, “a couple of weeks ago,” Williams campaigned on his support of the “Building Chips in America Act.” The legislation would further incentivize semiconductor manufacturing in the United States and builds upon Biden’s CHIPS and Science Act, which Williams referred to in August 2022 as “corporate welfare,” syracuse.com reported.

Throughout his time in front of dozens of supporters, the congressman consistently portrayed himself as a political outsider critical of the way Democratic “radical progressives” have run the state and country. When he mentioned he knew none of the local or national “establishment” before his 2022 run, the crowd cheered him on.

“My mission is to turn back the radical policies of the progressive left and return America to values of common sense,” he said.

Williams told reporters after his speech that he agreed with the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness, saying the president had overstepped his authority.

“I sit on the Education and Workforce Committee and I don’t see a lot of eagerness, particularly in such a tight financial crisis that we’re in, that we have the ability to start giving away new entitlements,” the congressman told The D.O.

With Democrats losing the House of Representatives partially due to the party’s underperformance in New York state, Williams knows his seat will be part of the national conversation.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee already announced in April that it was specifically targeting six House seats in New York, including Williams’. The House Majority PAC, which supports Democrats running for the House, also established a $45 million fund to flip house seats in New York state in February.

Williams also quickly addressed his health during the speech, lightly stating that he is feeling good once again after weeks of complications and an “uncomfortable recovery” from heart surgery.

Toward the end of the speech, Williams said he was encouraged about the future of central New York and the Mohawk Valley.

“It is my job to try to understand, to problem solve, to see the cause and effect, to use my experience to get our country back to defeat the progressive left,” Williams said.

Published on August 22, 2023 at 11:17 pm

Contact Kyle: kschouin@syr.edu | @Kyle_Chouinard