Steven Holden runs for Congress for NY-24 the Lake District

Steve Holden, a Syracuse University graduate and United States Army veteran, is running for Congress in District 24. The district includes several counties including Livingston, Ontario, Wayne, Seneca, Yates, Wyoming, and the town of Geneseo. 

According to his website, Holden is concerned with a variety of hot-button issues, including women’s rights and the right to an abortion, immigration, gun reform, and the environment, among other issues. 

Holden said that his background allows him to more personally connect with the people he wishes to represent in District 24. He said that three aspects of his background can really resonate with voters this election. 

“So, it really is three main things. First of all, I’m an Army veteran,” he said. “I retired from the Army as a lieutenant colonel in 2018 with four combat deployments: two to Iraq, two to Afghanistan. Secondly, I grew up in rural Oklahoma. I grew up on a dairy farm and spent most of my days there, just working out there. Three is that after I retired, I started a business helping veterans win government contracts.”

Holden’s political career started when he was very young. While studying at the University of Central Oklahoma, Holden was the chair of the Young Democrats at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M in Miami, Oklahoma.

“That was my first [role] in politics—I was involved with the Young Democrats [of America] throughout college, many about a little over 30 years ago, and that’s kind of where I got the taste for [politics]. I worked on political campaigns of all different sorts and types—congressional campaigns, State Senate campaigns, US Senate, [and] gubernatorial races, where I went out there and phone-banked, walked the streets, fundraised, whatever I could do to help the candidates that I wanted to see win, win.”

Holden says that his military service sets him apart from other candidates.

“I mean, to me, it comes back to a sense of service. I spent over 20 years of my life serving our country. And I always felt that was honorable. Over the past few years, I’ve seen assaults on our democracy and the Constitution come around. And that’s why I spent a career trying to protect. And there are a number of us around the state who are veterans who are now up for election this fall. You know, that’s why we’re doing it. We’re called in a different fashion during this time.”

Despite the fact that Holden is not from New York State, Holden has a strong sense of what each of the counties in District-24 have to offer, what resources they have, and how best to develop those areas. He said that his experiences in the military and growing up in rural Oklahoma have prepared him well to represent the people of upstate New York. 

“Being retired military, there’s Watertown with active-duty military and veterans. Growing up on a dairy farm, two of the most highly producing dairy counties in the entire country are Wyoming and Livingston counties, right where you are and right next door in Wyoming County. You need somebody who’s going to understand that.”

Holden also has a strong financial background from his military service.

“I [am] a retired finance officer in the army, and I handled multimillion dollar and billion-dollar budgets in Iraq and Afghanistan. So, it's those things that the army entrusted me with, that were the hallmarks of my career, to the point where I also taught others how to do it when I was in the military. I’ve done that since I’ve been out of the military as well.”

Another issue important to Holden is loans.

“I know a lot of people, students, austere students, farmers, veterans, you name it, so two things—one, I want to make sure that…people who are in college now have a chance to get good, paying jobs. So, things like the Chips Act that was passed, you know, ensuring that we have more good legislation that’s able to do that. There’s a chance that we could get a nice, really good facility out in some of the western counties in the district to do that.”

Holden said he feels called to run for congress by “Seeing what’s been going on in government. You know, we see a lot of people with dishonesty—we see people that have caused us to lose the public trust, and it’s time for those of us to step up. That’s why we entered the fray almost at the end of May, early June last year, as we saw this coming. And there needs to be more people in government who swore that oath to the Constitution of the United States. And that seems to be kind of the cornerstone or the Keystone thing within our campaign. It’s kind of bringing that back trying to bring back the public trust for just what the general public needs to know.”

Holden has some advice for college students—“Hey, one day, this could be you. And that’s something I like to tell people who are starting out—one day, you know, you could be running for this seat, and I want to do that so you can make anything possible like that.”

Students are encouraged to vote in the upcoming elections. Students can register to vote through the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) here. Students can vote on Nov. 8 in the Union Ballroom if they are registered to vote in Livingston County.