23rd Congressional District Republican Primary Candidate Nick Langworthy with State Assemblyman Andy Goodell and Chautauqua County Executive PJ Wendel (August 15, 2022)

23rd Congressional Republican Primary candidate Nick Langworthy received two endorsements at a stop in Jamestown Monday.

Chautauqua County Executive PJ Wendel and State Assemblyman Andy Goodell both offered their support to the Chautauqua County native who is facing Carl Paladino in a bid to win the chance to appear on the Republican line in November.

Langworthy was born in Jamestown and graduated from Pine Valley High School. He has been the State GOP Chairman for the last three years.

Langworthy said if elected, he wants to fight for energy independence, “It’s a speculative market, energy is. And when the President comes in on day one and says, ‘We’re shutting down the Keystone pipeline. We’re making it harder to drill, and we’re tightening on leases,’ that tells the energy sector, ‘We’re closed for business.’ While the other parts of the Southern Tier have the Saudi Arabia of natural gas. And our state government stands in the way of us drilling for that gas safely, just like they do in the state of Pennsylvania. And it’s cost us job after job, opportunity after opportunity, meanwhile Pennsylvania booms by comparison.”

Langworthy also wants to see the wall on the southern U.S. border get completed and to get the country out of some of the free trade agreements in order to encourage more products to be made in the United States. He added he would be an advocate for agriculture and that he believes the United States can be another bread basket for the world.

Langworthy added that while he and Paladino probably would have similar voting records, there are differences, “I’m not going to embarrass this community. And I can’t say that for my opponent. He’s got a track record. When people have counted on him, many of us counted on him to carry the ball when he ran for governor and he blew it. And he blew it in historic fashion. And when you had the same thing for the school board. He was supposed to fix the school board and he blew it. And the Buffalo City Schools suffered even more because of his behavior. That won’t happen with me.”

Early voting for the Republican Primary and the special election for the 23rd Congressional District continues until Sunday, August 21st. The last day to vote will be the primary day of Tuesday, August 23rd. Visit votechautauqua.com for more information.

Chautauqua County Board of Elections Commissioners Brian Abram and Luz Torres explain how voting will work for a special election and primary for the 23rd Congressional District.

Map Created by Irena Raia

Early voting for the special election for the 23rd Congressional District and the Republican Primary for the 23rd District begins Saturday.

Chautauqua County Board of Elections Commissioner Brian Abram said everyone who is a registered voter in Chautauqua County is eligible to vote in the special election, “So the door is wide open for everybody to walk in and decide on the special election between Max Della Pia and Joe Sempolinski on who they want to serve out the rest of Tom Reed‘s 23rd Congressional District until the end of the year. The next phase is, every Republican walking in the door will be entitled to two ballots. Because not only will they be able to participate in the special, but there is a primary going on between Nick Langworthy and Carl Paladino.”

Abram said that primary will determine which Republican will be on the ballot in November against Democratic candidate Max Della Pia.

He added that once the special election results are certified, the winning candidate will be sworn in to serve out the remainder of Tom Reed’s term in Congress.

Early voting will continue through Sunday, August 21 and will take place at the Chautauqua County Fairgrounds, the Robert H. Jackson Center in Jamestown, the Chautauqua Mall in Lakewood, and at the Board of Elections offices in Mayville. Hours for early voting, sample ballots and more can be found at votechautauqua.com

The official primary and special election day is Tuesday, August 23 with polls open from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. that day.

The Chautauqua County Board of Elections said a recent ruling in State Supreme Court ordered that all changes of enrollment received between August 12 and 30 will take effect on August 30.

Board of Elections Commissioner Brian Abram said following the June primaries, officials realized there needed to be a deadline in place for party enrollment for the August primary, “It became a court order to allow a deadline to be put in place to say to every voter, ‘Whatever you are on August 11 is what you will be for the primary.’ The special (election) doesn’t get affected because everybody is invited (to vote) in the special. But a primary election in New York State, it’s a closed primary system. You have to be a member of that party that is conducting the primary to participate.”

Abram said, therefore, the last day for voters to change their enrollment to be eligible to vote in the August 23, 2022 Republican Primary is August 11th. Registrations must be received by the Board of Elections on August 11th. Mailed applications must be received before or on August 11 to qualify.

For voters who wish to change their enrollment via the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles MotorVoter portal, the change must be submitted one day earlier, August 10th. This is because there is a one day delay in the Board of Elections receiving information from the DMV.

Carl Paladino announced on Thursday he’s retained counsel and will personally fund a federal lawsuit challenging the state’s new concealed carry measures on behalf of the people of New York. Prominent Buffalo-area attorney Paul Cambria will represent him and they hope to file in federal court by this morning.

The State Legislature passed the Concealed Carry Improvement Act following a U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down a long-standing state law requiring pistol permit holders to show proper cause in order to carry a concealed firearm in public.

Paladino said he agrees with pieces of the law, like strengthened background checks and required safety training, but in general believes the act is unconstitutional.

He said they’re determining exactly what will be in the suit.

Meanwhile, New York Republican Party Chairman Nick Langworthy pledged to sue last week as well and announced the Republican Party will partner with the state Conservative Party.

Paladino said he believes it’s a conflict of interest for Langworthy, as state chair, to use state party resources to sue while advancing his own campaign simultaneously.

Paladino said he would be willing to partner with the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association, which said it has been pulling together its own legal resources. NYSRPA President Tom King, in a statement, also said however, he is 100% behind the GOP-Conservative Party effort.

Governor Kathy Hochul released a statement in response to any potential legal action, which reads, “Governor Hochul signed landmark legislation to save lives and combat the gun violence epidemic by carefully regulating access to concealed weapons, protecting public safety while abiding by the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Bruen case. We have no further comment on pending litigation.”