A third Democratic candidate is launching a campaign to unseat Congresswoman Claudia Tenney in New York’s solidly red 24th Congressional District.
Alissa Ellman, an Allegany County native and current Lockport resident, announced her campaign on Friday on social media and in The Buffalo News.
“All across the district people are fed up with Claudia Tenney,” Ellman wrote in a Blue Sky post announcing her candidacy. “From Lockport to Watertown, people are crying out for someone who will fight for them. I’m going to answer that call.”
Ellman served in the military at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, according to her campaign website. She was later diagnosed with a rare adrenal cancer, pheochromocytoma, due to her exposure to burn pits in Afghanistan. After leaving the military, Ellman became a teacher and then an employee in the Office of Veteran’s Affairs. She lost her job this year during a round of staffing cuts made by the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency.
Ellman garnered some media attention when she attended Trump’s March address to Congress as a guest of Senator Chuck Schumer.
“I cannot see how employing veterans in the federal government is fraud, waste, or abuse,” Ellman said in a statement at the time. “Veterans are some of the best people I know. Veterans have sacrificed for this country; they are the ones who have been defrauded – their talents wasted and service abused. For many of us these jobs are more than a job, they are how we continue our service, continue our devotion to make America a better place.”
Ellman is running on a platform that includes expanding Medicaid, expanding bus networks in rural areas and expanding access to childcare.
Two other Democrats – Diana Kastenbaum and Steven Holden – are already in the race, likely setting the stage for a Democratic primary next year.
Kastenbaum — the owner of a Batavia-based manufacturing company who unsuccessfully ran against then-Rep. Chris Collins in New York’s 27th Congressional District in 2016 – is running on a platform of supporting the arts, voting rights and strengthening rural communities.
Steven Holden, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel, served in Afghanistan and Iraq. His platform includes opposition to Project 2025, protecting rural hospitals and supporting farmers.
Tenney is known for her ardent support of President Donald Trump, her opposition to transgender rights and immigration, and her support for Israel and gun rights, among other issues.
She is likely to be re-elected to represent the deep red 24th district in 2026. Trump won 61% of the district’s votes in the 2024 presidential election. Tenney ran ahead of Trump that year with 65.6% of the vote, beating her Democratic rival by more than 30 points.
The sprawling 24th Congressional District stretches all the way to Watertown and includes Orleans, Genesee and Wyoming counties, as well as most of Niagara County.