As Republican Congresswoman Ann Marie Buerkle stood in front of a crowd in East Syracuse, she admitted most of the people at the meeting, probably didn't vote for her. Many were keeping the freshman congresswoman on her toes during a meeting on social security and medicare.
The past few weeks, Buerkle has criss-crossed the district holding town hall meetings , hosting conversations with constituents and maybe trying to win more support. But almost 5 months into a 24 month term she's not ready to say if she'll run for re-election. "We are focused on serving the people we represent and that's what this afternoon was about and the past two weeks were about," said Buerkle. "We represent the 25th district, that's what we're about, that's our priority."
If she does plan to run, fundraising needs to be a priority, and soon. In the first 3 months of this year Buerkle brought in just 65-thousand dollars, the least of any Republican in the House. It's also just a small fraction of the amount used to defeat Democratic incumbent Dan Maffei, in one of the closest races in the country.
Onondaga County Republican Chairman Tom Dadey says it's tough for 2-year representatives because as soon as they get elected, they need to start campaigning again. But Dadey says he is confident Ann Marie will be on the ballot again.
There's no doubt in my mind she'll run again and no doubt in my mind she'll be re-elected," he said.
There is also concern that the 25th district seat may be eliminated, after re-districting lines are drawn.
