Brandon Williams (New York)

Brandon Williams (Republican Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing New York's 22nd Congressional District. He assumed office on January 3, 2023. His current term ends on January 3, 2025.

Williams (Republican Party, Conservative Party, Libertarian Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent New York's 22nd Congressional District. He is on the ballot in the general election on November 5, 2024. The Republican and Conservative Party primaries for this office on June 25, 2024, were canceled.

Biography

Brandon Williams was born in Dallas, Texas. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1990 to 1996. He earned a bachelor's degree from Pepperdine University in 1990 and a graduate degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1998. His career experience includes being a business owner.^[1]

2024 battleground election

See also: New York's 22nd Congressional District election, 2024

Ballotpedia identified the November 5, 2024, general election as a battleground race. The summary below is from our coverage of this election, found here.

Incumbent Brandon Williams (R), John Mannion (D), and Christopher Gowett (independent) are running in the general election for New York's 22nd Congressional District on November 5, 2024.

According to Politico, "The Cook Political Report has identified the district as the only Republican-held seat in the country that 'leans Democrat,' and Sabato’s Crystal Ball makes that one of only two GOP seats with the 'lean Democratic' label."^[2] As of July 29, 2024, Democrats needed to gain six districts to win a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. Politico's Bill Mahoney said the 22nd District is one of "an estimated six swing seats [in New York] this cycle."^[2]

Voters first elected Williams to the district in 2022, where he won with 50.5% of the vote. Heading into the 2024 election, Roll Call ranked Williams the most vulnerable House incumbent.^[3]

Following the adoption of new congressional maps in February 2024, the district included all of Onondaga and Madison counties, and parts of Cayuga, Cortland, and Oneida counties. Syracuse University professor of political science Grant Reeher said parts of Oneida County—where Williams did well in 2022—were switched with more Democratic portions of Cayuga County.^[4] He added, "The most recent round of the tweaking of the districts makes this district look even more friendly to [D]emocrats, but it looked friendly to Democrats two years ago and a conservative Republican won."^[4] Click here to see what the district looked like before and after redistricting.

Mannion, a state senator first elected in 2020, won election to a competitive district. Mahoney noted, "In 2018, [Mannion] launched the most serious campaign in generations by a Democrat in a long-time Republican stronghold, managed to flip the seat in 2020, and held on by 10 votes out of 123,000 cast in 2022."^[2]

New York's 22nd Congressional District is one of 34 congressional districts with a Republican incumbent or an open seat the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is targeting in 2024. To read about DCCC targeting initiatives, click here. For a complete list of DCCC targeted districts, click here.

Based on Quarter Two 2024 reports filed with the Federal Election Commission, Williams raised $2.7 million and spent $1.4 million and Mannion raised $1.2 million and spent $881,324. To review all the campaign finance figures in full detail, click here.

Williams has represented New York's 22nd Congressional District since 2023. Williams described himself as a political outsider and said his priorities included lower energy costs, a secure border, public safety, good-paying jobs, and robust infrastructure projects.^[5]^[6]

Mannion has represented New York State Senate District 50 since 2020. Mannion said he would "bring down costs for working families, care for our veterans, improve public safety, provide world class education for our kids and guarantee a woman’s right to choose."^[7]

As of September 4, 2024, The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter and Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball both rated the general election Lean Democratic, Inside Elections with Nathan Gonzales rated it Tilt Democratic, and Decision Desk HQ and The Hill rated it Toss-up.

Committee assignments

U.S. House

2023-2024

Williams was assigned to the following committees:^[Source]

Key votes

See also: Key votes

Ballotpedia monitors legislation that receives a vote and highlights the ones that we consider to be key to understanding where elected officials stand on the issues. To read more about how we identify key votes, click here.

Key votes: 118th Congress, 2023

The 118th United States Congress began on January 3, 2023, at which point Republicans held the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives (222-212), and Democrats held the majority in the U.S. Senate (51-49). Joe Biden (D) was the president and Kamala Harris (D) was the vice president. We identified the key votes below using Congress' top-viewed bills list and through marquee coverage of certain votes on Ballotpedia.

Key votes: 118th Congress, 2023

Vote

Bill and description

Status

Yea

National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 (H.R. 2670) was a bill passed by the 118th Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden (D) on December 22, 2023, authorizing Department of Defense activities and programs for fiscal year 2024. The bill required a two-thirds majority vote in the House to pass the bill as amended by a Senate and House conference report.^[8]

Passed (310-118)

Yea

To terminate the requirement imposed by the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for proof of COVID-19 vaccination for foreign travelers, and for other purposes.

H.R. 185 (To terminate the requirement imposed by the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for proof of COVID-19 vaccination for foreign travelers, and for other purposes.) was a bill approved by the House of Representatives that sought to nullify a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) order restricting the entry of foreign citizens to the United States unless the individual was vaccinated against the coronavirus or attested they would take public health measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The bill required a simple majority vote in the House.^[9]

Passed (227-201)

Yea

Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023

The Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023 (H.R. 2811) was a bill approved by the House of Representatives that sought to raise the federal debt limit before a June 5, 2023, deadline. The bill also sought to repeal certain green energy tax credits, increase domestic natural gas and oil production, expand work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program, and nullify President Joe Biden's (D) proposed student loan debt cancellation program. This bill was not taken up in the Senate, and the debt limit was instead raised through the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023. This bill required a simple majority vote in the House.^[10]

Passed (217-215)

Yea

Denouncing the horrors of socialism.

H.Con.Res. 9 (Denouncing the horrors of socialism.) was a resolution approved by the House of Representatives denouncing socialism and opposing the implementation of socialist policies in the United States. The resolution required a simple majority vote in the House.^[11]

Passed (328-86)

Yea

Lower Energy Costs Act

The Lower Energy Costs Act (H.R. 1) was a bill approved by the House of Representatives that sought to increase domestic energy production and exports by increasing the production of oil, natural gas, and coal, reducing permitting restrictions for pipelines, refineries, and other energy projects, and increase the production of minerals used in electronics, among other energy production-related policies. The bill required a simple majority vote in the House.^[12]

Passed (225-204)

Yea

Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Department of Labor relating to "Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights".

H.J.Res. 30 (Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Department of Labor relating to "Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights".) was a joint resolution of disapproval under the terms of the Congressional Review Act (CRA) passed by the 118th Congress and vetoed by President Joe Biden (D) on March 20, 2023. This was Biden's first veto of his presidency. The resolution sought to nullify a Department of Labor rule that amended the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to allow retirement plans to consider certain environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) factors in investment-related decisions. The resolution required a simple majority vote in the House.^[13] Click here to read more.

Passed (219-200)

Yea

Relating to a national emergency declared by the President on March 13, 2020.

H.J.Res. 7 (Relating to a national emergency declared by the President on March 13, 2020.) was a joint resolution of disapproval under the terms of the Congressional Review Act (CRA) passed by the 118th Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden (D) on April 10, 2023. The resolution ended the national coronavirus state of emergency, which began on March 13, 2020. The resolution required a simple majority vote in the House.^[14] Click here to read more.

Passed (229-197)

Yea

Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023

The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (H.R. 3746) was a bill passed by the 118th Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden (D) on June 3, 2023. The bill raised the federal debt limit until January 2025. The bill also capped non-defense spending in fiscal year 2024, rescinded unspent coronavirus relief funding, rescinded some Internal Revenue Service (IRS) funding, enhanced work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program (TANF), simplified environmental reviews for energy projects, and ended the student loan debt repayment pause in August 2023. The bill required a simple majority vote in the House.^[15] Click here to read more.

Passed (314-117)

Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.)

Speaker of the House election (January 2023) - 15th vote

In January 2023, the House of Representatives held its regular election for Speaker of the House at the start of the 118th Congress. Voting began on January 3, and ended on January 7. Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was elected speaker of the House in a 216-212 vote during the 15th round of voting. In order to elect a Speaker of the House, a majority of votes cast for a person by name was required.^[16] Click here to read more.

Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) (216-212)

Nay

Declaring the office of Speaker of the House of Representatives to be vacant.

H.Res. 757 (Declaring the office of Speaker of the House of Representatives to be vacant.) was a resolution passed by the House of Representatives that removed Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) from his position as Speaker of the House. The resolution required a simple majority vote in the House.^[17] Click here to read more.

Passed (216-210)

Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.)

Speaker of the House election (October 2023) - 4th vote

In October 2023, following Rep. Kevin McCarthy's (R-Calif.) removal as Speaker of the House, the House of Representatives held another election for the position. Voting began on October 17 and ended on October 25. Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) was elected Speaker of the House in a 220-209 vote in the fourth round of voting. In order to elect a Speaker of the House, a majority of votes cast for a person by name was required.^[18] Click here to read more.

Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) (220-209)

Yea

Directing certain committees to continue their ongoing investigations as part of the existing House of Representatives inquiry into whether sufficient grounds exist for the House of Representatives to exercise its Constitutional power to impeach Joseph Biden, President of the United States of America, and for other purposes.

H.Res. 918 (Directing certain committees to continue their ongoing investigations as part of the existing House of Representatives inquiry into whether sufficient grounds exist for the House of Representatives to exercise its Constitutional power to impeach Joseph Biden, President of the United States of America, and for other purposes.) was a resolution passed by the House of Representatives that formally authorized an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden (D). The inquiry focused on allegations that Biden used his influence as vice president from 2009 to 2017 to improperly profit from his son Hunter Biden's business dealings. The resolution required a simple majority vote in the House.^[19] Click here to read more.

Passed (221-212)

Yea

Providing for the expulsion of Representative George Santos from the United States House of Representatives.

H.Res. 878 (Providing for the expulsion of Representative George Santos from the United States House of Representatives.) was a resolution passed by the House of Representatives that removed Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) from office following a House Ethics Committee investigation that determined there was substantial evidence that Santos violated the law during his 2020 and 2022 campaigns. The resolution required a simple majority vote in the House.^[20]

Passed (311-114)

Elections

2024

New York's 22nd Congressional District election, 2024 (June 25 Democratic primary)

New York's 22nd Congressional District election, 2024 (June 25 Republican primary)

General election

The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

General election for U.S. House New York District 22

Incumbent Brandon Williams, John Mannion, and Christopher Gowett are running in the general election for U.S. House New York District 22 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate
		Brandon Williams (R / Conservative Party / L)
		John Mannion (Working Families Party / D)
		Christopher Gowett (Independent)

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House New York District 22

John Mannion defeated Sarah Klee Hood in the Democratic primary for U.S. House New York District 22 on June 25, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	John Mannion	61.5	16,624
	Sarah Klee Hood	38.4	10,373
	Other/Write-in votes	0.2	47

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 27,044
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Brandon Williams advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House New York District 22.

Conservative Party primary election

The Conservative Party primary election was canceled. Incumbent Brandon Williams advanced from the Conservative Party primary for U.S. House New York District 22.

Working Families Party primary election

The Working Families Party primary election was canceled. John Mannion advanced from the Working Families Party primary for U.S. House New York District 22.

Polls

See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls

Polls are conducted with a variety of methodologies and have margins of error or credibility intervals.^[21] The Pew Research Center wrote, "A margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level means that if we fielded the same survey 100 times, we would expect the result to be within 3 percentage points of the true population value 95 of those times."^[22] For tips on reading polls from FiveThirtyEight, click here. For tips from Pew, click here.

The links below show polls for this race aggregated by FiveThirtyEight and RealClearPolitics, where available. Click here to read about FiveThirtyEight's criteria for including polls in its aggregation.

FiveThirtyEight

Election campaign finance

Name

Party

Receipts*

Disbursements**

Cash on hand

Date

Brandon Williams

Republican Party, Libertarian Party, Conservative Party

$2,732,999

$1,393,575

$1,363,587

As of June 30, 2024

John Mannion

Democratic Party, Working Families Party

$1,221,855

$881,324

$340,531

As of June 30, 2024

Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2024. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee."
** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election.

Satellite spending

See also: Satellite spending

Satellite spending describes political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns; that is, any political expenditures made by groups or individuals that are not directly affiliated with a candidate. This includes spending by political party committees, super PACs, trade associations, and 501(c)(4) nonprofit groups.^[23]^[24]^[25]

If available, this section includes links to online resources tracking satellite spending in this election. To notify us of a resource to add, email us.

By candidate	By election
Brandon Williams John Mannion Christopher Gowett	Open Secrets Federal Election Commission

Race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.^[26]
Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.^[27]^[28]^[29]

Race ratings: New York's 22nd Congressional District election, 2024
Race tracker	Race ratings
	September 10, 2024	September 3, 2024	August 27, 2024	August 20, 2024
The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter	Lean Democratic	Lean Democratic	Lean Democratic	Lean Democratic
Decision Desk HQ and The Hill	Toss-up	Toss-up	Toss-up	Toss-up
Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales	Tilt Democratic	Tilt Democratic	Tilt Democratic	Tilt Democratic
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball	Lean Democratic	Lean Democratic	Lean Democratic	Lean Democratic
Note: Ballotpedia reviews external race ratings every week throughout the election season and posts weekly updates even if the media outlets have not revised their ratings during that week.

Endorsements

Williams received the following endorsements. To send us additional endorsements, click here.

Former President Donald Trump (Republican Party, Conservative Party)

Pledges

Williams signed the following pledges. To send us additional pledges, click here.

Taxpayer Protection Pledge, Americans for Tax Reform