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Rematch for Cobb, Stefanik?

(Cobb photo by Watertown Daily Times, Stefanik photo by Post-Star)

Tedra Cobb is running for Congress in 2020. Maybe.

Cobb was the Democratic nominee for New York’s 21st Congressional District last year, winning a sweeping victory in the primary but falling 14 points short of unseating incumbent Rep. Elise Stefanik, a Republican who now lives in Schuylerville. On Thursday, Cobb’s campaign — Committee to Elect Tedra Cobb — filed a Statement of Organization with the Federal Election Commission for the 2020 House election.

Stefanik also filed a Statement of Organization on Thursday for her 2020 run.

Cobb “just opened up the campaign to raise early money,” said Mauranda Stahl, who is handling communications for Cobb. “We’re still evaluating options and looking at 2018 data to see if there is a clear path to victory.”

The campaign will allow Cobb to collect money while she makes the final decision about running.

“Tedra is continuing to fight for Northern New York families and while she is still reflecting on 2018, Tedra is securing the resources to run an effective campaign should she make that choice,” reads the statement from the campaign sent to the Times. “In the interim, Tedra is working with county and local candidates in 2019 to build coalitions across the district.”

Cobb said she would run again in her concession speech on election night, but there was no official release sent to the Times until one was requested. Republicans say they are delighted to be running against Cobb.

“After winning by the largest margin of any Republican in the Northeast, Congresswoman Stefanik looks forward to a 2020 rematch,” wrote Lenny Alcivar, Stefanik’s campaign spokesman.

Cobb was able to more than halve Stefanik’s 2016 margin of victory, but Stefanik retains the advantage of three terms of incumbency and a huge amount of money. According to end-of-year reports, Cobb finished with $39,321 in cash on hand while Stefanik ended with $352,228.

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