Claudia Tenney: Biography, Voting Record, Committees and Political Career
Claudia Tenney has represented New York in Congress since 2017, except for one term after losing reelection in 2018. She currently represents New York’s 24th Congressional District. This Claudia Tenney biography covers her education, business career, committee assignments, elections, election-integrity activities and voting record.
Tenney represents a large district that stretches from the North Country through Central New York and the Finger Lakes to Western New York. Her congressional career has closely paralleled that of Rep. Nicholas Langworthy, who represents the neighboring 23rd Congressional District.
Claudia Tenney at a Glance
| Political party | Republican |
| Current district | New York’s 24th Congressional District |
| Born | February 4, 1961, in New Hartford, New York |
| Education | Colgate University and University of Cincinnati College of Law |
| First elected to Congress | 2016 |
| Current committees | Ways and Means, Intelligence, and Science, Space and Technology |
| Major political issues | Taxes, election law, immigration, trade, energy and agriculture |
| Election Integrity Caucus | Chair and co-founder |
Claudia Tenney’s Congressional Elections
| Year | District | Result | Opponent |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | NY-22 | Won | Kim Myers and Martin Babinec |
| 2018 | NY-22 | Lost | Anthony Brindisi |
| 2020 | NY-22 | Won by 109 votes | Anthony Brindisi |
| 2022 | NY-24 | Won | Steven Holden |
| 2024 | NY-24 | Won | David Wagenhauser |
Early Life and Education
- 1961: Born February 4, 1961, in New Hartford, New York.
- Her parents were Cynthia and John R. Tenney, a New York State Supreme Court justice.
- She was one of five siblings.
- 1983: Received a B.A. from Colgate University.
- 1987: Received a J.D. from the University of Cincinnati College of Law.
Tenney became a co-owner of Mid-York Press, a commercial printing and manufacturing company in Sherburne, New York. Her maternal grandfather founded the company.
Source: U.S. House of Representatives, History, Art and Archives
Media and New York State Government
- 2001: Co-hosted a weekly radio and television public-affairs program serving Oneida and Herkimer Counties.
- 2002: Became legal counsel and chief of staff to New York State Assemblyman David R. Townsend Jr.
- 2010: Co-hosted a program on a conservative talk-radio station in Utica.
- 2010: Elected without opposition to the New York State Assembly, succeeding Townsend.
- She became the first woman to represent the district.
- 2011–2012: Represented the 115th Assembly District.
- 2013–2016: Represented the redrawn 101st Assembly District.
- 2012: Named the New York State Conservative Party’s “Most Conservative Legislator.”
First Election to Congress
- 2016: Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from New York’s 22nd Congressional District.
- Received approximately 44% of the vote.
- Democrat Kim Myers received approximately 39%.
- Independent and Reform Party candidate Martin Babinec received approximately 13%.
Source: U.S. House of Representatives
115th Congress, 2017–2019
- Served on the House Financial Services Committee.
- Questioned the scientific consensus on climate change, stating, “The science is not determined. It’s not certain.”
- 2018: The Hill described Tenney as embracing President Donald Trump’s confrontational political style.
- Signed a letter calling for criminal investigations of several former Obama administration and Justice Department officials.
- Following the Parkland school shooting, said, “It’s interesting that so many of these people that commit the mass murders end up being Democrats.”
- Said on CNN that Democrats who did not applaud during President Trump’s State of the Union address were “un-American.”
Source: Rep. Claudia Tenney, official House biography
2018 Election Defeat
- 2018: Lost reelection to Democrat Anthony Brindisi.
- President Trump endorsed Tenney and campaigned for her in the district.
- Trump had carried NY-22 by more than 15 percentage points in 2016.
- The result made NY-22 one of the most strongly pro-Trump districts captured by a Democrat during the 2018 midterm election.
2020 Election and Return to Congress
- 2020: Challenged Brindisi in a rematch for NY-22.
- President Trump carried the district with approximately 54.7% of the presidential vote.
- After months of litigation and a review of disputed ballots, a state judge ordered Tenney certified as the winner by 109 votes.
- Tenney took the oath of office on February 11, 2021, more than a month after the 117th Congress began.
Source: Tenney v. Oswego County Board of Elections
Source: U.S. House record of vacancies and successors
117th Congress, 2021–2023
- Served on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
- Served on the House Small Business Committee.
- January 6, 2021: Voted against certifying the Electoral College results from Arizona and Pennsylvania.
- Said during a CNN interview, “No one knows about what happened in the election. We don’t know if it was stolen or not. I don’t know, the President doesn’t know.”
Tenney’s vote against certification became an important part of her congressional record. She later placed election law and election administration near the center of her legislative agenda.
House Election Integrity Caucus
- Co-founded the congressional Election Integrity Caucus after returning to Congress in 2021.
- Initially served as a co-chair and later became chair of the caucus.
- The caucus promotes Republican proposals involving voter eligibility, registration procedures, ballot handling and election administration.
- It also supports congressional investigations and election-related lawsuits.
Tenney describes these proposals as safeguards against election fraud. Critics argue that some measures make voting and voter registration more difficult for eligible American citizens. Read Is Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY24) the New Face of Voter Suppression? for a closer examination of that dispute.
Source: House Election Integrity Caucus
2022 Election and the Paul Pelosi Tweet
- 2022: Redistricting eliminated the version of NY-22 that Tenney represented.
- Ran in the Republican primary for the newly drawn 24th Congressional District.
- Defeated Mario Fratto and George Phillips in the Republican primary.
- Won the general election and began representing NY-24 in January 2023.
- October 2022: Retweeted an altered photograph showing men holding hammers following the attack on Paul Pelosi and added “LOL.”
- Deleted the post after it drew widespread criticism.
- The Buffalo News editorial board said the episode revealed a “broken moral compass.”
Source: The Daily Beast report on the deleted tweet
New York’s 24th Congressional District
- 2023: Began representing New York’s 24th Congressional District.
- The district includes parts of 14 counties from the North Country through Central New York, the Finger Lakes and Western New York.
- Tenney had long maintained her principal residence in New Hartford, outside NY-24.
- She has said that she lives and votes in Canandaigua, which is within the district.
Source: Rep. Claudia Tenney, description of NY-24
118th Congress, 2023–2025
- Appointed to the House Ways and Means Committee.
- Appointed to the House Science, Space and Technology Committee.
- Continued serving as a leader of the Election Integrity Caucus.
Tenney frequently voted with Rep. Nicholas Langworthy on major Republican initiatives. Their joint record included taxes, health programs, immigration, energy policy and federal spending. Their support for the 2025 budget reconciliation law is examined in Langworthy and Tenney to Constituents: Drop Dead!.
Tenney’s Election-Integrity Activities
Tenney has made election law one of the defining issues of her congressional career. Her proposals and activities have included:
- Supporting the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, or SAVE Act.
- Supporting documentary proof of U.S. citizenship for federal voter registration.
- Voting for the SAVE Act when it passed the House in July 2024.
- Supporting later and expanded versions of the legislation.
- Supporting legislation to prohibit private organizations from funding state and local election administration.
- Describing private election funding as “Zuckerbucks.”
- Supporting proposals to prevent noncitizens from administering federal elections.
- Supporting restrictions on voter-registration activities conducted by federal agencies and outside organizations on federal property.
- Proposing a constitutional amendment stating that only U.S. citizens can vote in federal, state and local elections.
- Calling for federal investigations of New York election and voter-registration practices.
- Joining election-law briefs and litigation.
- Supporting Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s unsuccessful 2020 Supreme Court challenge to election results in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
The SAVE Act goes beyond presenting identification at the polls. It requires people registering to vote in federal elections to produce documentary proof of citizenship. That distinction is central to the debate over Tenney’s election proposals. It is discussed in greater detail in Is Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY24) the New Face of Voter Suppression?.
Source: Tenney election-integrity issue page
Source: Tenney statement on the 2024 SAVE Act vote
Source: Tenney statement on the 2025 SAVE Act vote
Source: Tenney statement on the 2026 SAVE America Act vote
2024 Republican Primary
- 2024: Faced Mario Fratto for the second time in a Republican primary.
- Received another endorsement from President Trump.
- Defeated Fratto with more than 61% of the vote.
- Won by a larger margin than in their 2022 contest.
- Disclosed that she had recorded some of her conversations with Fratto.
Source: WSKG report on the 2024 Republican primary
Source: City & State New York
2024 General Election
- November 2024: Defeated Democratic nominee David Wagenhauser.
- Won another term representing NY-24.
- Received 235,867 votes, according to the New York State Board of Elections.
Source: New York State Board of Elections
Source: Associated Press election report
119th Congress, 2025–2027
Tenney serves on three House committees:
- House Committee on Ways and Means
- Subcommittee on Health
- Subcommittee on Trade
- House Committee on Science, Space and Technology
- Subcommittee on Energy
- House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
- Subcommittee on Defense Intelligence and Overhead Architecture
- Subcommittee on the National Intelligence Enterprise
Source: Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives, current committee assignments
Source: Rep. Claudia Tenney, official House biography
Tenney’s Voting Record
Tenney’s voting record closely follows the House Republican leadership on taxes, immigration, health care, energy and federal spending. She has also backed several measures promoted by President Trump.
Tenney and Langworthy supported Republican efforts to eliminate federal diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Critics argued that some of those actions weakened protections and employment opportunities for veterans. Read Western New York Republicans Nicholas Langworthy and Claudia Tenney Back Anti-DEI Efforts and Hurt Local Veterans in the Process.
Tenney also supported President Trump’s tariff policies. Tariffs are collected from American importers and are often passed to consumers through higher prices. The effects on Western New York households and businesses are examined in The Trump Tariff Tax Begins and WNY Republicans Are Silent as Prices Surge.
Her support for the 2025 budget reconciliation law also aligned her with Langworthy. The legislation included tax reductions, increased immigration-enforcement spending and major changes to Medicaid and food assistance. Read Langworthy and Tenney to Constituents: Drop Dead!.
2025–2026 Election Legislation
- Continued advocating for documentary proof-of-citizenship requirements for federal voter registration.
- Supported House passage of the SAVE Act in April 2025.
- Supported the expanded SAVE America Act passed by the House in February 2026.
- Promoted bills addressing private election funding, federal voter-registration programs and noncitizen voting.
- Continued using the Election Integrity Caucus to promote legislation, congressional oversight and legal challenges involving election procedures.
Election security is a legitimate government responsibility. The unresolved question is whether Tenney’s proposals prevent unlawful voting without creating unnecessary obstacles for eligible citizens. Her record places her firmly on the side of stricter federal registration requirements.
Source: House Election Integrity Caucus
Source: Tenney election-integrity legislation and statements
Related Articles
- Is Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY24) the New Face of Voter Suppression?
- Langworthy and Tenney to Constituents: Drop Dead!
- The Trump Tariff Tax Begins and WNY Republicans Are Silent as Prices Surge
- NY23 Congressional District Representative: Nicholas Langworthy
- Western New York Republicans Nicholas Langworthy and Claudia Tenney Back Anti-DEI Efforts and Hurt Local Veterans in the Process
