Colleen Deacon, the Democratic challenger in New York state’s 24th Congressional District race, voted this morning around 8 a.m. in the Hillside Work Scholarship school gym.

The gym is the polling location for the city of Syracuse’s 17th ward, which is composed of the seventh, eighth and ninth voting districts.

Deacon, an East Syracuse resident, is attempting to upset Republican incumbent and Syracuse University alumnus John Katko (R-N.Y.).

According to the latest Siena College Poll — which was published on Oct. 20 — Katko leads Deacon by 23 percentage points.

Deacon, also an SU alumna, was optimistic, though, in a press conference after she voted.

“I feel great, I feel really good. We’ve really run a good campaign,” Deacon said. “We know the votes are there, we just have to get them to the polls today … it’s a beautiful day so we’re happy.”

The former regional director for Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s (D-N.Y.) office noted that she wished she could have been “cloned,” so she could have attended more events throughout her campaign.

When asked whether she had a final message for voters who would be heading to the polls later in the day or after work, Deacon told The Daily Orange if voters have any questions about where to vote they should contact the Onondaga County Board of Elections for information, and if they have any questions about her campaign they should “reach out” to her.

“This is where my heart and soul has been over the last 13 months,” Deacon said.

Published on November 8, 2016 at 10:37 am

Contact Sam: sfogozal@syr.edu | @SamOgozalek