Washington D.C., Feb 8, 2021 / 10:07 am
Another woman endorsed by pro-life groups was elected to the U.S. House on Friday, in the last 2020 House race to be certified.
On Friday evening, Claudia Tenney declared victory in the race for New York's 22nd congressional district seat after months of litigation over ballot-counting and improper ballots following the November election.
Tenney led by 109 votes over her Democratic opponent Anthony Brindisi when a state judge declared the results certified on Friday, according to AP.
"We celebrate a record-breaking 30 pro-life women elected to the House as proof that life is winning in America," said Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List, on Friday. She called Tenney a "pro-life champion."
Tenney, who served in Congress from 2017-2019, won her rematch with Brindisi after losing to him in 2018. Their latest race was the last House race to be certified in the 2020 elections.
Judge Scott DelConte told attorneys for Brindisi on Friday that to "stop an election" by not certifying the count "is a very, very high [legal] burden," according to Syracuse.com.
In a series of tweets on Friday evening, Brindisi said he was "shocked and surprised" by the judge's ruling to certify the ballot count, "because of the countless errors and discrepancies that have occurred throughout this initial count."
"I believe a full audit and hand recount is the only way to resolve this race," he said. As of Monday, Brindisi had not yet appealed the judge's decision to certify the results.
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Tenney's razor-thin margin of victory mirrored that of another pro-life woman candidate, Mariannette Miller-Meeks, who won her race for Iowa's 2nd district by only six votes.
Tenney's victory marks the 30th House race won by a woman endorsed by the pro-life group Susan B. Anthony List (SBA List) in 2020. Of the 30 women candidates, 19 are not incumbents Republicans and 10 of them flipped seats previously held by pro-abortion candidates.
"Women are ideal messengers to communicate the pro-life message," Dannenfelser said.
"Standing tall with the early feminists who knew that authentic rights can never be built on the broken bodies and rights of our children, these strong leaders dismantle the abortion lobby narrative and are an integral part of restoring a culture of life to our nation," she said.
According to SBA List, Tenney promoted a 20-week abortion ban while a New York state legislator, and was a member of the group's National Pro-Life Women's Caucus when she served in Congress.
The group National Right to Life said that Tenney had a 100% pro-life voting record in her term in Congress, and would support pro-life policies including a "Born-Alive" bill to protect infant survivors of botched abortion attempts.
Tenney's victory comes as a House Republican, Rep. Ron Wright (R-Texas), died on Monday. According to POLITICO, he had tested positive for COVID-19 several weeks before and had been hospitalized for cancer treatments last fall. Wright was a Catholic and had received an "A+" rating from SBA List.
"Ron was a voice for the voiceless in Congress, voting consistently to protect the lives of unborn babies and their mothers," the group tweeted on Monday.
