UPDATED: Feb. 17, 2020 at 1:53 p.m.

The Onondaga County Democratic Committee on Saturday selected Francis Conole to run against Rep. John Katko (R-Camillus) in the New York state general election this fall.

With the election nine months away, Conole is one of several local candidates who’ve already launched campaigns to represent Onondaga County in the United States House of Representatives and the New York State Senate.

Here’s a breakdown of the candidates:

Francis Conole

Conole will challenge incumbent Katko to represent the state’s 24th Congressional District, which includes Onondaga, Cayuga and Wayne counties and parts of Oswego County. He received 54% of the committee’s vote in a race against Dana Balter and Roger Misso.

Conole, a Syracuse native, attended Westhill High School in Onondaga County before graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy in 2001 and serving in the Iraq War, according to Conole’s campaign website. His campaign will focus on protecting the Affordable Care Act, decreasing the financial deficit, reducing student debt and investing in clean energy, Syracuse.com reported.

John Katko

Republican Katko is running for a third reelection this November. Katko has carried the 24th District in every election since 2014, most recently defeating Dana Balter in 2018, Syracuse.com reported.

Before running for Congress, Katko, a Camillus native, worked as a federal prosecutor for 20 years. He currently serves on the House Committee on Homeland Security and the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

Daily Orange File Photo

Dana Balter

Hours after Conole secured backing from the county Democrats, Dana Balter announced she’ll challenge Conole in a Democratic primary election this summer. Balter’s last campaign for the 24th District – a 2018 campaign against Katko – fell short by 5% of the vote, according to Syracuse.com.

Balter’s campaign priorities include providing affordable healthcare for all and minimizing the influence of “big money” in politics, according to her campaign website. She began her career as a teacher, later becoming director of education for a disability services nonprofit organization. She most recently taught at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University.

Roger Misso

Roger Misso will join Balter in challenging Conole in the democratic primary election. Misso, a Wayne County native, is running for public office for the first time in 2020. He is a former naval aviator who served in two combat deployments in the Middle East.

Misso is staying in the race to provide a voice to rural communities in Central New York, according to Sryacuse.com.

Rachel May

State Sen. Rachel May (D-Syracuse) has represented New York’s 53rd Senate District since 2019, when she defeated Republican incumbent Janet Burman by more than 14% of the vote. The 53rd District includes Onondaga and Madison counties and parts of Oneida County.

May is chair of the Committee on Aging and the Commission on Rural Resources. She’s co-sponsored legislation supporting environmental protection and women’s healthcare efforts, according to her website. Her agenda also lists increasing funding for public schools and revitalizing the Syracuse Interstate-81 corridor as campaign priorities.

Sam Rodgers

Republican Sam Rodgers is a former SU football captain who’s campaigning against May for the 53rd Senate District.

Rodgers received a law degree from Cornell University in 2019 after graduating from SU in 2015. He currently works in family court part-time at the Onondaga County Law Department. While at SU, Rodgers taught English to children, built greenhouses and ran a soccer clinic for more than 100 children during mission trips to an orphanage in Hawaii.

Rodgers has cited central New York’s declining population as a major issue facing the area, and he hopes to prioritize legislation that would attract young professionals to the area.

CORRECTION: In a previous version of this post, it said that Rachel May was sustainability coordinator at SU, which she is not. The Daily Orange regrets this error.

Published on February 16, 2020 at 10:39 pm

Contact Sarah: scalessa@syr.edu | @sarahalessan