First appeared on FOX: A Democratic congressman running for re-election in New York, speaking during a Zoom town hall meeting, said the “impact” of Republican “fear-mongering” is “number one” when it comes to the border and public safety.
“I think these districts lost out last year on crime issues, and now crime is still a big issue? You said it's crime, it's the economy, it's the border,” said Rep. Pat Ryan, D-N.Y. asked during a Zoom call. “The crime issue is nonsense, too, yes, but does it still persist?” he asked, meeting with Democratic activists from the New York Buddy Group last week.
Without disagreeing with the premise that “crime is nonsense,” Ryan replied, “Well, I think in our polling, the 'border' and immigration falls under the broad category of this kind of fear-mongering about public safety. That's the No. 1 impact of the fear-mongering that the Republican Party has done.”
“The economy is a close second, and specifically costs, not just macroeconomics, GDP, unemployment, things like that, but cost of living, cost of housing, cost of groceries, cost of health care,” Ryan said. “We actually looked at specific subcategories of costs that people are experiencing. So, as a messaging setup, I expect Republicans will continue to focus on fear, crime, the border, the areas where they're more trusted right now.”
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Democratic Congressman Pat Ryan is running for re-election in New York's 18th Congressional District. (Getty Images)
“Of course, we're going to continue to focus on abortion rights and reproductive freedom. We've always been trusted in that area,” Ryan continued. “The middle path is the economy. What we've done and what we'll continue to do is lower the cost of housing, health care, groceries, gas, utilities. We have a track record, we have a plan, we just have to communicate that. And I think we're on track on that, especially in our campaign.”
Ryan is running for re-election in New York's 18th Congressional District against Republican Allison Esposito, who is listed as one of the leading candidates by the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC). Top 40 Targets In November.
“Pat Ryan designated Ulster County a sanctuary county, then took that same mindset to Washington, where he votes like an extremist while pretending to be a moderate on TV. He doesn't care about the important issues facing NY-18, like the ongoing immigration crisis that hurts New Yorkers every day,” NRCC spokesperson Savannah Vier told Fox News Digital in a statement.
“Senator Ryan has been in the fight for 27 months and knows what it means to secure the border, which is why he's one of the few Democrats who has consistently and aggressively urged President Biden to restore order to the border. But let's be clear: there's a big difference between pursuing bipartisan solutions to secure the border in good faith and far-right fear-mongering, like lies about immigrants eating people's pets,” Ryan spokesman Sam Silverman said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
“The truth is, Congressman Ryan has the best record on border security in this race,” Silverman continued. “Pat Led a bipartisan effort He was one of 15 Democrats who joined Rep. Lawler and Rep. Molinaro in calling on President Biden to declare a state of emergency in New York state in response to the migrant crisis. Calling on President Biden to take executive action to restore order He passed several border bills, includingSecuring America's Borders Against Fentanyl Act and the “Ban China-Made Fentanyl Act.”
“Unfortunately,” Silverman added, this is “an uncomfortable reality for Allison Esposito, who opposed the strongest border security bill in decades, and is desperately looking for an opportunity to score easy political points to salvage her failed campaign. Allison can spend her time politicizing the border while Pat gets to work actually fixing the border.”
Esposito has called Ryan a “sanctuary pat” and criticized his focus on immigration, an issue most polls say is the second most important issue in the November election after the economy.
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After crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, migrants line up at remote U.S. Border Patrol processing centers. (Photo: John Moore/Getty Images)
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“Pat Ryan may try to shy away from his record on sanctuary and open border policies, but Hudson Valley residents know the truth,” a spokesperson for Esposito's campaign told Fox News Digital. “In 2019, he declared Ulster County a sanctuary county and banned it from working with federal agencies. His record speaks for itself: he opposed the border security bill H.R. 2 in May 2023, voted against the Laken Riley Act, and supports allowing illegal immigrants to vote in elections.”
“If Pat Ryan was serious about border security he would have acted a long time ago. Now, with nearly 50 days until Election Day, Ryan's latest comments are an insult to the millions of Americans affected by the Biden-Harris border crisis. From fentanyl flooding our border to the victims of crimes perpetrated by illegal immigrants, this crisis is not something to be fear-mongered or joked about.”
The Cook Political Report rates the race in New York's 18th Congressional District as “Democrat-favored.”
