Attorney Todd Aldinger drops plans for Congress; intends to move out of NY

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — From a now-deleted Twitter account, attorney Todd Aldinger announced that he will not be running for office.

After previously sharing his interest in filling the seat for the newly re-mapped NY-24 in Congress, the Republican says it’s no longer in his plans.

Attorney Todd Aldinger intends to run for Congress if NY is re-mapped

“I needed much more support than I have received to stay and fight in New York,” Aldinger wrote.

In fact, Aldinger’s not only giving up his potential run for Congress, he’s not even planning to stay in the state.

“I will no longer be around to take your legal cases. I will be looking to move out of state ASAP,” he wrote.

Instead, Aldinger has thrown his support behind Andrew McCarthy, who’s also running for New York’s 24th Congressional District.

“Thanks to everyone who supported me,” Aldinger concluded. “But now is not the right time for me.”

Aldinger first announced his intention to run for office at the end of January pending New York’s re-mapping, which was made official by Gov. Kathy Hochul days later.

Gov. Hochul signs new State and Congressional redistricting maps into law

“If I am fortunate enough to be elected to Congress, my first bill will be to abolish the CDC. Some of its responsibilities can be delegated to the states, others (like bioterrorism preparedness) will need a new home in the federal government,” a message posted to the Todd Aldinger for Congress, NY-24 Facebook page read. “But that agency has demonstrated too much incompetency during this pandemic to be salvaged in anything resembling its current form.”

As an attorney, Aldinger has been known for standing with people in opposition to COVID-related protocols.

Last year, he represented clients in a lawsuit against the Williamsville Central School District. Ultimately, in May, the Williamsville and Orchard Park school districts were required to offer options for learning in-person five days a week.

The attorney also worked alongside Ralph Lorigo in an attempt to convince Moog to join a group of employees in litigation against a federal vaccine mandate.

One of Aldinger’s clients, Robby Dinero, has been the subject of controversy over the course of the pandemic. Dinero, who owns Athletes Unleashed in Orchard Park, was arrested in December after police there say he “reportedly has had previous violations of the Orchard Park Central School District’s Code of Conduct.”

Here are some of the cases Aldinger was involved with:

Orchard Park police say gym owner who entered high school was charged with criminal trespassingMoog will not join group of employees in litigation opposing federal vaccine mandateLawsuits filed against Williamsville, Clarence Central School Districts by parents demanding a return to 5-day week schoolingOrchard Park Gym Athletes Unleased granted injunction against New York State

Aldinger has not been the only person interested in representing the new 24th District come election time. Chris Jacobs, who currently represents NY-27, is looking to keep a seat in the House of Representatives.

On the same day Aldinger announced his intentions to run for NY-24 if it was re-mapped, Jacobs shared his plans to do the same. According to Jacobs, more than 400,000 of the people currently represented by his district will be in the new 24th District.

The map change was the result of population loss in New York, causing the state to lose a seat in Congress.

According to FiveThirtyEight, the new map includes 20 Democratic-leaning seats, four Republican-leaning seats and two seats that don’t strongly lean one way or the other. They say it would give Democrats more of an advantage in Congressional representation.

MORE | New York lawmakers unveil map that would boost number of Democratic seats

The next election to determine members of Congress will take place in November.