Scientist Patrick Madden Withdraws from NY 22 Congressional Race

Binghamton University Professor Patrick Madden has officially announced he is no longer running for Congress in NY-22.

Madden notified friends and supporters of his decision on his campaign Facebook page. He says the main reason for his withdrawal from the race was the announcement from Assemblyman Anthony Brindisi that he would seek the Democratic candidacy. Madden states in his post,

My path to the general election became more challenging a few days ago, with Assemblyman Anthony Brindisi entering the race. He is an experienced politician, and has considerable establishment backing. To be competitive, I would need to run a divisive, bruising campaign, and I don’t think that would serve either of us well. Instead, I will withdraw from the race; rather than being bitter rivals, I see an opportunity to be allies.

One of the reasons Madden decided to run in the first place is the large number of scientists seeking a position in political office. He believes that the public has taken notice and he feels "Greater diversity in the backgrounds of those in office will benefit everyone. Scientists and engineers have tremendously valuable skill sets."

Assemblyman Brindisi released a statement reacting to Madden's dropping out of the race. The statement reads,

Professor Madden and I spoke on the phone prior to his decision to leave this race and we had a very good conversation. He has a good grasp of the issues facing this congressional district, and I agree with him on restoring devastating budget cuts that  Congresswoman Tenney supports. We both agree that Congresswoman Tenney is just not getting the job done for our community. That's why it is more important than ever to work together and elect an independent voice for our community. I look forward to working with him as my campaign advances.

Madden says, "My experiment in politics did not go as expected — but as with any good experiment, you learn something, and find new ideas to explore." He concluded his Facebook announcement thanking all his supporters.

Patrick Madden's Video Announcing His Bid For Congress