Former U.S. Department of Agriculture official Kailee Buller will run for the Republican nomination in New York’s 22nd Congressional District, she announced Thursday.
Buller is a native of Auburn and a food and economic policy advocate. She has most recently been serving as chief of staff to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins under the current Trump administration.
She has also served as the president and CEO of the National Oilseed Processors Association and the Edible Oil Producers Association.
Buller said her campaign will focus on lowering costs, restoring public trust and delivering real results on the issues facing working families.
“Conversations with families, farmers, and small business owners across the region have made clear that Central New York needs stronger and more bipartisan representation in Washington. Central New Yorkers are tired of politicians like John Mannion who pull political stunts and show up to photo ops and ribbon cuttings, but deliver nothing. We deserve progress,” Buller said in a statement.
Buller will challenge freshman Democratic U.S. Rep. John Mannion. Entrepreneuer and combat infratry veteran Dave Hollenbeck is also seeking the Republican nomination. Republicans have struggled to recruit candidates for the Central New York race since state Assemblyman John Lemondes dropped his brief candidacy. Buller said she has the backing of all Republican and Conservative Party County chairs in the district.
The 22nd District is made up of Onondaga, Madison and parts of Oneida, Cortland and Cayuga counties. It includes the cities of Syracuse, Auburn, Cortland and Utica. The district that includes the city of Syracuse has changed through decades of redistricting, but has generally been a Republican-leaning district with competitive House races. Mannion is only the second Democrat to represent the area in nearly half a century, despite a slight Democratic voter advantage and despite voting for Democratic presidential candidates for more than three decades. Mannion unseated Republican Rep. Brandon Williams last year by 11 points.