Who is Hal Stewart? (I asked him.)
Today, I had a phone conversation with Hal Stewart, a Binghamton veteran running for Congress as an independent in 2022. It was about a ten-minute call meant to be an introductory exchange, but I thought I’d share with you folks what I learned: Who is he? What does he stand for? And why is he running for Congress?
Hal Stewart is running for Congress in 2022 in New York’s 22nd Congressional District.
The Binghamton man told Elected News he’s running as an independent but that his views “align more often than not with the Democratic Party.” However, Mr. Stewart has crossed party lines during recent presidential elections. He shared that he’d voted for Pres. George W. Bush in 2004 against John Kerry and Mitt Romney in 2012 after voting for Pres. Obama in 2008 against John McCain.
Mr. Stewart was born and raised in Syracuse, NY, and is an avid fan of the Orange. He joined the Navy and served our country in uniform for four years before returning to Binghamton where he has lived ever since. Mr. Stewart says he has been working in marketing for retail and media companies, but also shared that he has a funny side.
“I am a stand-up comic,” Stewart told Elected.
Mr. Stewart says he is running because he is sick of the same faces in NY-22 politics: Anthony Brindisi and Claudia Tenney.
“Both of them got nothing done,” Stewart says, “and neither of them had any message outside of ‘I should take credit for the SPOONSS Act.’”
Even though he voted for Fmr. Rep. Anthony Brindisi in the last two elections, he had some harsh words for the Utica native.
“Brindisi said he’d be independent and he wasn’t. And I get it’s tough to be a freshman in Congress, but he just went right along with the party line and gave us nothing,” Stewart said.
Stewart was also critical of incumbent Rep. Claudia Tenney saying that she “offers nothing except support for Trump,” even pointing out the “Trump-Tenney” lawn signs that were scattered throughout the district during this past campaign.
He says because Ms. Tenney’s campaign didn’t focus on issues, he’s “curious to see what she actually does in Congress.”
As for the issues he’d focus on, Mr. Stewart said his “main priority is getting the deficit under control.” He also wants to work on issues of policing and border security.
When it comes to the question of whether Mr. Stewart has the experience to represent our district in Congress, he pointed to what he sees as a valuable perspective to bring to Washington.
“I have had the life of an average American. I know the struggle of losing a job … but both of these people [Brindisi and Tenney] haven’t lived that life. They’ve been busy looking for government checks,” Stewart says.
Mr. Stewart told us he hopes to formally launch his campaign and website on April 1st and that his main campaign priority is getting enough signatures to qualify for the ballot.
“Running as an independent, I’m working against the machine.”
