After a discussion with his wife and son two summers ago, Eric Kingson began questioning what he wanted to do with his future: he decided to run as representative of New York State’s 24th Congressional District.

“’Maybe if I was younger’ was my first thought when my wife brought up the idea. She told me to think on it overnight, and when I work up in the morning, I realized I did want to do it,” said Kingson, a professor of social work at Syracuse University.

Kingson ran as a progressive on the Democratic ticket, focusing his attention to issues such as preserving social security, debt-free college, fighting voter suppression and universal health care, according to one of Kingson’s own campaign advertisements.

“I ran because I felt and continue to feel that the Democrats have not been as explicitly clear about the values they represent or the importance of engaging people in politics,” Kingson said. “I would say that I was the only clear progressive.”

Kingson lost to SU alumna Colleen Deacon on the Democratic ticket in June. Kingson received 32 percent of the votes, while Deacon won 48 percent of the votes, according to the NY State Board of Elections.

While Kingson ran to win and was disappointed by the loss, he said he doesn’t have any regrets. He added that the loss has some rewards: he and his family vacationed in Alaska, he was able to be more attentive after his daughter gave birth to their second grandchild and he will now get to go back to teaching.

Even though running for the office was a privilege that not many people get to experience, Kingston said, he does not think he will be running for political office again at this time.

Still, the SU professor said he plans to stay active in politics as a co-chair for the Social Security Coalition and hopes to write articles and blog posts about his experience running for office.

If he were able to go back in time, Kingson said he would have gotten out earlier, distinguished himself from his competitors as the true progressive and hired more staff earlier on to see more success in his campaign.

He also received direct endorsement from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), which he said he greatly appreciated but wished would have come out earlier in his campaign.

Other setbacks to his campaign were him getting pneumonia, waiting to announce endorsements until the official announcement that he’d be on the ballot and issues with the signature collection to assure his place on the ballot, which took up nearly three weeks, Kingson said.

One key thing Kingson said he got out of his experience was a strong appreciation for local level politics. Experiences at community meetings showed him that democracy still works at a local level.

“At the end of the day, members of Congress are just people. They have different views but all of them can use themselves to stand up for basic decency,” Kingson said. “There is a lot of things they can do at the community level that are powerful, like re-engaging young people in politics in a positive way and bringing those local voices forward.”

In the upcoming election for New York’s 24th Congressional District, Kingson said he will support Deacon and he will be voting for her.

“She’s a very kind person, which goes far with me. We have our disagreements but, at the end of the day, we are both Democrats and I will support her,” Kingson said. “There are a lot of times I would like to see her go further than she does but at least I know she will be fall on the right side of votes on key issues.”

He added that he believes John Katko, the Republican nominee for the primary, is a nice guy, but he is much too conservative and moderate for his taste.

In the presidential election, Kingson said he will be voting for Hillary Clinton. He was a strong proponent for Sanders and encourages other Sanders supporters to vote for Clinton.

“A lot of them seem to be thinking about voting for an independent or not voting at all, and I can understand that instinct,” Kingson said. “But any vote we get for Hillary, from my point of view, is more than a vote for her, it’s a vote for rejecting fascism and a future for this country which does not represent the values we fought for as a democracy.”

Published on August 30, 2016 at 11:44 pm

Contact BreeAnna: blposhek@syr.edu