Democrat Martha Robertson ’75 announced Thursday that she will run to represent the predominantly conservative 23rd congressional district — which is currently being led by Rep. Tom Reed (R-N.Y.) — in the 2014 congressional election.

Nate Shinagawa ’05 M.A. ’09, current vice chair of the Tompkins County Legislature and 2012 Congressional candidate, announced Tuesday that he would not run again for Congress in 2014.

Recently freed from his Congressional campaign responsibilities, Nate Shinagawa ’05 M.A. ’09 went to the gym last week. It was the first time he had been in more than eight months — or since he first declared his candidacy for New York’s 23rd Congressional seat on March 14.

In a hard-fought election decided by a margin smaller than any poll had predicted, incumbent Rep. Tom Reed (R-N.Y. 29) edged out Democratic challenger Nate Shinagawa ’05 M.A. ’09, clinching 51 percent of the vote and winning the race for New York’s 23rd Congressional District.

The candidates for the 23rd Congressional District argued over how "Obamacare" effects Medicare.

Of the Tompkins County Legislature’s 25 meetings held in 2010, Shinagawa only sat through the entirety of about 13.

In a debate at Cornell Tuesday, Nate Shinagawa ’05, M.A. ’09, Democratic nominee for Congress in New York’s 23rd District, sparred with two members of the College Republicans on policy issues.

In a spirited, substantive debate held Thursday morning, rivals in the local Congressional race fought to claim the mantle of bipartisanship while deriding their opponent as an extremist removed from the political mainstream.

As of Sept. 29, Tom Reed has raised a total of $1.87 million to Nate Shinagawa's $639,019.

In the race for New York’s 23rd Congressional district, money divides incumbent Rep. Tom Reed (R–N.Y. 29) and Democratic candidate Nathan Shinagawa ’05 M.A. ’09 almost as much as political opinion.