Matt Doheny

Early life & education

Doheny is the son of Sandra “Kay” and the late Richard Doheny. He was born in Jersey City, New Jersey and was raised in Alexandria Bay, New York. He studied at Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania, where he earned a bachelor's degree. He went on to earn a law degree from Cornell University in 1995.

Career

After graduating from law school, Doheny practiced law in Syracuse, New York for a short period of time. He then moved to New York City, to begin managing distressed assets for Deutsche Bank. Subsequently, Doheny joined Fintech Advisory, a money management firm.

In 2010, Doheny founded North Country Capital, which lent working capital to businesses and startups who were looking to expand. Later that year, Doheny began his political career, challenging Bill Owens for the 23rd district seat in the US House of Representatives. At the time, Owens was the incumbent Democratic and Working Families Party candidate, serving in office since 2009. Doheny beat the Conservative nominee Doug Hoffman in the Republican primary. Hoffman quit the general election race on October 5, over a month before the election. Despite dropping out, he received over 10,000 votes in the general election, while Doheny lost to Owens by only 1,995 votes. Many in the media offered Hoffman's inclusion in the race as a reason for Doheny failing to win the seat.

Two years later, Doheny again ran for election for the U.S. House to represent New York's 21st congressional district. Doheny sought nomination on the Republican ticket, this time against Kellie Greene. A major point of contention in the Republican primary was about visas. The two candidates disagreed on whether the H-2A Visa should be extended in Watertown and the surrounding farmland areas to allow farm workers to stay and work for longer periods.

Doheny defeated Kellie Greene in the Republican primary and ran against Bill Owens for the second time in two years. The district was newly constituted in 2012, comprising New York state's rural northern region, including Adirondacks, Watertown and Plattsburgh. During the run-up to the election, Doheny argued that his private business experience would suit him well in Congress and criticized Owens for doing little to reverse "the tax-and-spend mentality," while serving in office. Doheny's economic platform included a push to make the tax code flatter in an effort to spur job growth. He stated in an interview, "President Obama and his allies continue to stifle growth by pushing an agenda that leads to higher taxes and bigger deficits," Doheny said. "That just creates more burdens for both average Americans and for our future generations." Despite his stance and receiving 45.3% of the vote, Doheny lost the race to Bill Owens late in 2012.

Doheny ran again in 2014 to represent New York's 21st congressional district. Incumbent Bill Owens had announced his retirement and did not run for re-election. He lost in the republican primary to Elise Stefanik. Following the defeat, Doheny endorsed Elise Stefanik as the Republican candidate. Stefanik went on to win the election for the New York's 21st congressional district.