Paul Tonko

He subsequently entered the race to succeed McNulty in the 21st district.

Tonko won the Democratic primary on September 9, defeating four other candidates.

In the November 4 general election, Tonko defeated Republican Schenectady County Legislator James Buhrmaster by a decisive margin.

According to the Times Union, "Tonko's name recognition ... accomplishment in the Legislature, such as the passage of mental health parity legislation, and his record" contributed to his win.

He had effectively clinched a seat in Congress in the primary; the 21st had long been the only safe Democratic district in the state outside the New York City, Buffalo and Rochester areas.

Tonko ran for reelection on the Democratic, Working Families and Independence Party lines.

He was challenged by Republican and Conservative Party nominee Ted Danz, a former United States Navy Reservist and small business owner in the cooling and heating business.

Tonko raised almost $980,000, and spent almost $780,000 on his campaign; Danz raised about $44,000 and spent about $42,000 on his campaign.

The New York Times rated the seat "Solid Democratic", with a "99.8%" to "100% chance" that Tonko would win.

Paul David Tonko (born June 18, 1949) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for New York's 20th congressional district since 2013.

He graduated from Amsterdam's Wilbur H. Lynch High School in 1967, and received a degree in mechanical and industrial engineering from Clarkson University in Potsdam, New York in 1971.

An engineer for the New York Public Service Commission, Tonko became active in local politics in the early 1970s and successfully ran for the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors.

He was a member of the board from 1976 to 1983, and the board's chairman from 1981 to 1983.

Tonko was the youngest person in county history to be elected to the board of supervisors.

From 1983 to 2007, Tonko represented the 105th district in the New York State Assembly.

In January 1983, Assemblywoman Gail S. Shaffer resigned her 105th district seat to take office as Secretary of State of New York.

The Democratic Party, as well as the Liberal Party, nominated Tonko to contest an April 12 special election for the seat against former Schoharie County Clerk Eugene Hallock, the Republican and Conservative nominee.

Tonko defeated Hallock in a close race.

While in the Assembly, Tonko served as chair of the Energy Committee from 1992 until his departure from the Assembly in 2007.

He was also a member of standing committees on Agriculture, Transportation and Education, where he was the original sponsor and a chief proponent of the College Tuition Savings Program that was signed into law in 1997.

Tonko sponsored Timothy's Law, a 2006 law that requires health insurers to cover mental health treatment.

He also sponsored the Northeast Dairy Compact, and chaired the Legislative Commission on Rural Resources,

He was appointed to serve as president and CEO of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority from 2007 until his resignation in April 2008.

Tonko was reelected 13 times, serving in the Assembly until 2007.

Tonko resigned his Assembly seat in June 2007 to become President and CEO of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.

Soon afterward, he declared his candidacy for Congress, and was elected in November 2008.

On April 25, 2008, Tonko stepped down from his position at the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority after ten-term Democratic Congressman Michael McNulty announced his upcoming retirement from Congress.

He represented the 21st congressional district from 2009 to 2013.

A member of the Democratic Party, Tonko has been called a staunch progressive.

The major issues in the 2010 race were Tonko's votes for Obamacare, the Stimulus Package (ARRA), and the Energy Bill.

The Albany Times Union endorsed Tonko, citing "a way of thinking and speaking like the engineer that he once was" and his support of the economic stimulus bill and health care bills.

Tonko won the November 2 general election, 124,889 votes to 85,752.

Redistricting saw Tonko's district renumbered the 20th district.

It lost much of its more rural territory to the west.

To make up for the loss in population, it was pushed further into Saratoga County.

Tonko is the ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Materials in the 118th Congress.

The new 20th was no less Democratic than the old 21st, and Tonko defeated Bob Dieterich in 2012, Jim Fischer in 2014, and Joe Vitollo in 2016 and 2018.

Since 2013, he has been the highest-ranking Democrat on the panel, which authorizes, oversees and investigates the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Tonko is a lifelong resident of Amsterdam, New York, near Schenectady, and is of primarily Polish descent.

After the 2020 redistricting cycle and effective for the 118th Congress, the 20th district will include all of Albany County, Saratoga County and Schenectady County, as well as part of Rensselaer County.