New York state Assemblywoman Claudia Tenney announced a primary challenge to Republican Rep. Richard Hanna Wednesday morning, hitting her opponent from the right.
Tenney, a second-term conservative Republican and “lifelong resident of New Hartford,” launched the challenge to the two-term congressman at 9 a.m.
Originally elected into New York District 24 in the 2010 tea party wave, Hanna was redistricted into New York 22, winning 2012 election handily against his Democratic challenger.
Since his election, Hanna has raised the ire of conservatives, supporting hot-button issues like tax hikes, NPR and the Ground Zero mosque (before he changed his mind); breaking with the GOP to vote against a one-year delay of Obamacare shortly before the government shutdown; and telling women to give their money to Democrats. The National Journal rated Hanna the 3rd-most liberal Republican in Congress for 2013.
Tenney, on the other hand, has an A+ from the NRA and was rated the top conservative in the New York legislature by the Conservative Party of New York — a sort of third-party state kingmaker on the right that is likely to support Tenney in her primary challenge.
The Republican primary is slated for June 24, and so far no Democrat has declared, so the winner could take all.
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