U.S. House of Representatives (2009–present)
Elections 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 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.
2010–present 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. 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. 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. He defeated Liz Joy in 2020 and 2022. He defeated Kevin Waltz in 2024.
Tenure Tonko was one of the 19 most liberal House members, according to the
National Journal, for 2011. He voted with President
Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time in the
117th Congress, according to a
FiveThirtyEight analysis. When he entered Congress, Tonko said he wanted to primarily focus on energy policy. He sponsored a bill to create an $800 million research program in
wind energy technologies, which would benefit
GE in his district. He also wanted to create a research program to improve the efficiency of
gas turbines used in power generation systems that convert heat into energy. In 2010, Tonko got a provision in a House-passed bill, following the
BP disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, to prevent future spills and help small businesses in spill research. In 2011, he sponsored an amendment seeking to protect the
Environmental Protection Agency's authority to regulate carbon emissions. Tonko praised the
2011 State of the Union Address, saying, "the President set out a bold agenda for our nation, an agenda that will focus on growing our economy, growing jobs, and growing opportunity for the middle class". He has also often warned of the threat that Obamacare's repeal would pose to small businesses, young people, and seniors. Tonko has worked to raise awareness about the region's waterways, chiefly the
Hudson and
Mohawk rivers, and the effects of flooding after
Hurricane Irene. Seeking a comprehensive flood mitigation and economic development strategy, Tonko introduced the Hudson-Mohawk Basin Act in 2012. Tonko became a prominent opponent of the
Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) in 2015, citing American trade deficits and the use of child labor by at least four countries that had already signed the pact as among his reasons for opposing the deal. In 2017, Tonko was one of three Catholic politicians whom Bishop
Edward Bernard Scharfenberger of Albany publicly rebuked for participating in a rally supporting
Planned Parenthood. In January 2019, Tonko—a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee—was named chair of that committee's Subcommittee on the Environment and Climate Change. On October 1, 2020, Tonko co-signed a letter to Secretary of State
Mike Pompeo that condemned
Azerbaijan’s offensive operations against the
Armenian-populated enclave of
Nagorno-Karabakh, denounced
Turkey’s role in the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and criticized "false equivalence between Armenia and Azerbaijan, even as the latter threatens war and refuses to agree to monitoring along the line of contact." In 2022, Tonko was instrumental in passing provisions contained in the
CHIPS and Science Act (PL 117-167) into law. On February 5, 2026, Tonko came out in support of
abolishing ICE.
Syria In 2023, Tonko was among 56 Democrats to vote in favor of H. Con. Res. 21, which directed President
Joe Biden to remove U.S. troops from
Syria within 180 days.
Committee assignments •
Committee on Energy and Commerce •
Subcommittee on Environment (Ranking Member) •
Subcommittee on Energy •
Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations •
Committee on the Budget Caucus memberships Tonko is a member of more than 65 House caucuses. Below is a sample of his memberships: •
Black Maternal Health Caucus •
Congressional Progressive Caucus • Congressional Caucus on Parkinson's Disease • Bipartisan Congressional Task Force on Alzheimer's disease •
Congressional Arts Caucus •
Congressional Solar Caucus •
Congressional Taiwan Caucus •
Congressional Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Equality Caucus •
House Baltic Caucus •
Rare Disease Caucus •
Congressional Caucus on Turkey and Turkish Americans ==Electoral history==