First on Fox: A Democratic Congressman In a tight re-election contest in New York, he participated in a Zoom town hall where he said Republican “fear mongering” has “number one” impact when it comes to the border and public safety.
“Last year I think all of these districts lost on the issue of crime and now, is crime still a big issue that you’re fighting for? You said it’s crime, the economy and the border,” said Democratic Rep. Pat Ryan. asked in a zoom call with Democrat activists from the New York Buddy Group last week. “So, the crime issue is bullshit, too. So that’s bullshit, too, but it’s still strong?”
Ryan, who responded without challenging the premise that “the crime issue is nonsense”, said, “Yeah, I would say that, you know, in our survey, ‘border’ and immigration, which I think is a broad category for these kind of public safety fears. The fear mongering being done by Republicans, that’s number one.”
“The economy is a close second, and specifically costs, not like the macro, what’s GDP, what’s unemployment, but cost of living, housing, groceries and healthcare are three,” Ryan said. “We actually surveyed specific subcategories of costs that people are experiencing. So the way I see it as setting up message-wise, Republicans will really continue to focus on fear, crime, the border where they’re more credible right now.”
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Democratic Rep. Pat Ryan is running for re-election in New York’s 18th Congressional District. (Getty Images)
“We will, of course, continue to focus on abortion rights, reproductive freedom, where we are trusted more,” Ryan added. “That middle ground is the economy and what we have done and more importantly will do is lower costs on housing, healthcare, groceries, gas, utilities, which we have a track record of, we have plans, it’s just about communicating those and I think we’re making good progress on our campaign in particular.”
Ryan is running for re-election against Republican Alison Esposito in New York’s 18th congressional district, a race the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) has described as one of its toughest elections. Top 40 Goals in November.
NRCC spokeswoman Savannah Weir said in a statement to Fox News Digital, “Pat Ryan made Ulster County a sanctuary county and then took that same mentality to Washington, where he pretends to be a moderate on television but then votes like an extremist. He doesn’t care about the important issues facing NY-18, like the ongoing migration crisis that is harming New Yorkers every day.”
Ryan’s spokesperson Sam Silverman said in a statement to Fox News Digital, “Congressman Ryan served 27 months in combat — he knows what it means to secure the border. That’s why he’s been one of the few Democrats to consistently and aggressively press President Biden to restore order at the border. But let’s be clear — there’s a big difference between working in good faith for a bipartisan solution to secure our border and spreading bizarre far-right fear-mongering like lies about migrants eating people’s pets.”
“The truth is that Congressman Ryan has the strongest record on border security in this election,” Silverman added. Led a bipartisan effort Congressmen Lawler and Molinaro were among only 15 Democrats to call on President Biden to declare a state of emergency in New York in response to the migrant crisis. Demand for President Biden to take executive action to restore order Several border laws have been signed at the border, including ‘‘Protecting America’s Borders Against Fentanyl Act’ And this is’Stop the Chinese Fentanyl Act.'”
Silverman added that “unfortunately” this is “an uncomfortable reality for Alison Esposito, who opposed the strongest border security legislation in decades, so she’s looking for any opportunity to score cheap political points to salvage her failed campaign. Ellison can spend her time politicizing the border; Pat is doing real work to fix it.”
Esposito has dubbed Ryan “Sanctuary Pat” and criticized his immigration policies, which are the second-most important issue to voters in November after the economy.
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Migrants wait in line at a remote US Border Patrol processing center after crossing the US-Mexico border. (Photo: John Moore/Getty Images)
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“Pat Ryan may try to run from his record on sanctuary and open border policies, but Hudson Valley residents know the truth,” an Esposito campaign spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “In 2019, he declared Ulster County a sanctuary county, restricting cooperation with federal agencies. His record speaks for itself: he opposed H.R. 2, which was passed in May 2023, aimed at securing the border; he voted against the Laken Riley Act; and he supports allowing illegal immigrants to vote in our elections.”
“If Pat Ryan were serious about border security, he would have taken action long ago—now, nearly 50 days away from Election Day. Ryan’s recent comments are a slap in the face to the millions of Americans affected by the Biden-Harris border crisis. From the fentanyl flooding our borders to the countless victims of crimes committed by illegal immigrants, this crisis is not one to be afraid of, and it is no joke.”
The Cook Political Report rates the NY-18 race as “Lean Democrat.”
