First appearance on Fox: Barstool sports personality Bill Cotter, also known as “Billy Football,” has set his sights on New York’s 3rd Congressional District and launched a grassroots campaign focused on young people.
“I wanted to come in and be a voice for this generation if anything. You know, I may not be able to reach Congress, but hopefully some of the things I’ve raised on my platform here. I hope it gets to Congress,” Cotter told FOX News Digital.
Cotter, a fifth-generation New Yorker, said the 3rd District faces issues that didn’t concern him growing up in the Big Apple.
“I just kept thinking about it and looking at what was going on in Washington, local politics and the issues that this part of New York was dealing with,” Cotter said. “Problems that didn’t matter to me when I was a kid are now problems.”
“When it comes to crime, the immigration crisis, the cost of living crisis, those issues are seen at face value in New York, and that motivated me to get involved,” he said.
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Bill Cotter earned a bachelor’s degree in political economy from Williams College. (Congressman Bill Cotter)
Cotter said when he recently turned 25 that he was finally old enough to run for office, he decided to use his platform to make a difference in the political arena.
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“What can you do at 25 years old that you couldn’t do at 24 years old? One of those things was run for Congress,” Cotter said.
The Barstool Sports personality said inflation and the cost of living crisis are two issues that touch his generation.
“No one in my generation will be buying a home for the next five years, especially in this area, because home prices are so high,” Cotter said. “Everyday life has become so expensive that no one has enough expendable income to save, and their wages are not rising at the same rate as the prices of everything. yeah.”
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“For our generation, we will be left paying the bill ourselves when it comes to the national debt,” he said.
Bill Cotter is a fifth-generation New Yorker running for Congress from New York’s 3rd District. (Congressman Bill Cotter)
Cotter said his work at Barstool Sports has given him a unique platform to interact with “everyone from pro athletes to bartenders.”
“The biggest impact it had on viewers was being able to interact with so many people my age, from professional athletes to bartenders, and they all somehow knew that something was wrong in this country. I know,” he said.
“You hear them voice their opinions and issues, but when you have 300,000 followers on Twitter, it feels like you’re interacting with so many people,” he added. . “That insight really inspired me to take it to this next level, because people know something is wrong and there is a complete lack of common sense.”
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“I want to help bring common sense into this equation, because it’s hard to tell whether our elected officials are truly acting in our best interest at first glance. , because we don’t know.”
republican candidate
Cotter said he decided to run as a Republican because most of his views align with the Republican Party.
“I chose to run as a Republican because many of my views align with national security, law enforcement support, and budget spending,” he said. “I don’t think all of my beliefs are necessarily tied completely to the Republican Party. I think I have a position running as a Republican, but I’m going to look at every issue completely and without bias.”
Bill Cotter collects signatures outside a New York grocery store. (Congressman Bill Cotter)
Mr. Cotter has been working tirelessly to collect 1,250 signatures to put the bill on the New York Republican Party ballot.
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“I’m learning a lot about the election process and I’ve found that there are a lot of barriers for ordinary people to run for office,” Cotter said. “The only people who seem to be coming into this position with a perfect signature appear to be establishment candidates who have broad support, primarily from any political party.”
“Honestly, I hope I can make a real run.” grassroots movement“I personally gathered about 1,000 signatures in the rain,” he said.
