ITHACA, N.Y.—The Democratic field for the U.S. House of Representatives has shrunk by one, as Vanessa Fajans-Turner announced her withdrawal from the NY-19 race Sunday evening.
In an announcement from her campaign, Fajans-Turner blamed the new district lines for her decision to get out of the race. The new lines represent a significantly different geographic area, though it still is estimated to lean Democratic.
“Now that New York’s redistricting process is complete and its new district lines are final, I have made the difficult decision not to continue my campaign for Congress,” said Fajans-Turner. “Tompkins County, and my hometown of Ithaca, have been drawn into New York’s 19th Congressional District, which spans 11 counties extending from Tompkins through the Catskills and east across the Hudson Valley to the Massachusetts border. This new district is very different from the one in which I have been campaigning and building voter trust since launching in February.”
Fajans-Turner, who built her candidacy on environmental issues, did not specifically endorse any other candidate in the field, but called on voters to support a Democrat as the party sees a potential wave of lost seats in the November mid-term elections.
“I will not act in any way that splits the Democratic field in this new swing district with an established and well-funded Republican in the running. This national moment is larger than any individual candidate, and it is incumbent on all of us to work for the greater, common cause as the stakes of this race continue to rise.”
Fajans-Turner had been third in the field at the last fundraising update, having accumulated just over $250,000 in receipts. Fellow Democrat Josh Riley has long been the fundraising leader among candidates from either major party.
“To say I’m grateful for everyone who believed in this campaign and its vision is the largest of understatements I can imagine. We campaigned to drive conversation and engagement around key issues in the community. While our time in this race has ended, our work most certainly has not.”