Joe Biden endorses former SU professor Dana Balter for U.S. Congress

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Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee and a Syracuse University College of Law alumnus, endorsed Dana Balter’s congressional election bid. 

Balter, a candidate for New York’s 24th Congressional District, announced the endorsement on social media Wednesday. In the announcement she cited Biden’s work on the Affordable Care Act, a comprehensive health care reform law passed while Biden was serving as vice president under President Barack Obama. 

“Because of the Vice President’s work on the ACA, 20 more million Americans have health insurance today,” Balter said in the statement. 

Balter launched her 2020 campaign in April 2019, after narrowly losing her first campaign to three-time incumbent Rep. John Katko (R-Camillus) last November. She will again try to unseat Katko in this year’s election.

Balter is a former professor in SU’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. The 24th Congressional District includes Onondaga County, as well as all of Cayuga and Wayne Counties and some of Oswego County.

Biden’s endorsement of Balter follows a series of television ads from Katko claiming that Balter’s views on health care were too liberal for Biden, Syracuse.com reported. Balter came within about 5 percentage points of beating Katko in 2018.

“New Yorkers face a choice between Balter – an advocate for working families – and Rep. John Katko, who supports President Trump’s attempts to overturn the Affordable Care Act,” Biden said in a statement. 

In the statement, shared on Balter’s Instagram and Twitter, Biden also said that he “strongly endorses” Balter for Congress because she understands the current struggles of working families in central and western New York. 

Last fall, Balter expressed solidarity with #NotAgainSU, a movement led by Black students that has protested SU’s response to a series of racist, anti-Semitic and homophobic incidents. She visited protesters at the Barnes Center at The Arch in November, where the movement held an eight-day sit-in. 

“I look forward to partnering with (Biden) to continue expanding health care coverage for everyone,” Balter said.