Congressman Reed: Constituents Come Before Re-Election Efforts

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CORNING – A member of the House of Representatives can find it rather difficult to balance their re-election campaign with their official duties as the People’s advocate.  

Consider the fact that a House member’s term is only two years, which basically forces them to start their re-election bid before the term’s half-way mark if they want a successful run.

With that, WNYNewsNow asked Congressman Tom Reed for his perspective on the balance, especially during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. He says his focus, from Day One, has been to ensure that his constituents had what they needed during the crisis.

Reed adds that he knows he needs to serve “both demands.”

“When you balance that (official capacities) versus the campaign obligations and things associated with that, you just have to go into it knowing that you have to serve both of those demands,” Reed said. “But I’ve always told myself that we are always here to serve our official responsibilities, and those are the constituents of the 23rd Congressional District as the top priority, and that means focusing on the official side of the District especially during this crisis.”

Reed is attempting to fend off Democrat challenger Tracy Mitrano, who he previously defeated in 2016. The Congressman is seeking his sixth term in office.