Congressional District 23, which runs from Chautauqua County to the west of Binghamton, may be on the chopping block. With the expected retirement of U.S. Rep. Tom Reed at the end of December 2022, the loss of an incumbent puts the 13-county Congressional area at risk of being broken up.

On Monday, census data revealed New York state would lose one seat in Congress as a result of national population shifts. The state’s delegation will shrink from 27 to 26. It is one of seven states losing a member of congress as a result of the 2020 census.

While the loss of at least one seat was expected in New York, the political world has been in some suspense over whether it might lose two in next year’s congressional elections. It’s not yet clear how voters’ districts will change. That process hinges on more detailed census data that isn’t expected until August, at the earliest.

Traditionally, state lawmakers and governors have redrawn voting districts for seats in the U.S. House and state legislatures. But some states, including New York, have shifted that job to special commissions or made other changes intended to reduce the potential for partisan gerrymandering.

In New York, voters approved a 2014 ballot proposition that calls for a 10-member commission to draw districts for the U.S. House and the state Legislature. The maps will be submitted to the Legislature for approval.

Steuben County Republican Party Chairman Joe Sempolinski, who has been actively exploring a potential run for the 23rd district seat, commented this loss of representation is a direct result of the failures of Democrat Party policy. “People have been fleeing in droves to states where common sense, conservative policies still hold sway. The failed Socialist ideology of the modern Democratic Party that currently controls both Albany and Washington must be stopped,” he said. “The sad results that we have seen in New York state will be the fate of the nation unless a Republican majority is restored in Congress in 2022.”

Nevertheless, Sempolinski was undeterred in his exploration of a potential run for Congress. “We need a Constitutional Common Sense Conservative, who doesn’t know the meaning of the word quit, to represent this region.”

The response, as I have been out and about listening to the people of the Finger Lakes and Southern Tier, has been tremendous. I will continue listening to the voters. There is no one better equipped to represent this region. I will continue exploring a potential campaign to represent the region that I have spent my entire career fighting for. … We need to make sure everyone in this region makes their voice heard. We need to continue to have a rural, small town district for the Finger Lakes and Southern Tier.”