Tipsheet

Republican Candidate for Congress Endorsed by Border Patrol Council in Key NY Race

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  October 13, 2024 11:30 AM

Control of the House of Representatives could once more come down to key races out of New York, including in the state's 18th Congressional District, a seat currently held by Democratic Rep. Pat Ryan. Republican Alison Esposito, an NYPD veteran and the nominee for New York's lieutenant governor race in 2022, has put up a valiant effort in trying to unseat Ryan. One of the issues she's prioritized is securing the border, and last week she earned the endorsement from the National Border Patrol Council (NBPC).

"Alison Esposito will be a strong leader in Congress who will work to secure our borders and stand up for law enforcement and the brave men and women of the NBPC," Paul Perez, the president of the union said. 

Perez also referenced Esposito's experience in the NYPD in his statement. 

"Now more than ever we need leaders in Congress who will fight to restore law and order, ensure we have the resources to secure our border and protect our neighborhoods," Perez added. 

Border security was also a hot topic during the debate between Ryan and Esposito on PIX11 NEWS last Wednesday night.

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While Democrats like to speak at length about a particularly bad border that died in the Senate to claim they want to secure the border, the House passed HR 2-the Secure the Border Act back in May of last year. Ryan joined in his fellow Democrats in voting against such a bill, though.

"If you want to work in a bipartisan way and put your district first and you want to say that you called for border security, you had the ability to vote on HR 2 to immediately secure our border and you failed to do so," Esposito emphasized. She reminded that the bill "is now sitting on Chuck Schumer's desk," telling Ryan, "and if you really cared about securing the border, you would call on Chuck Schumer to bring that for a vote."

"Again, Pat Ryan is trying to secure his position without doing what's best for the people that he represents," Esposito also reminded. 

Esposito also recently got into it with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), a member of the far-left Squad who represents the state's 14th Congressional District and has been campaigning with Ryan. 

As Esposito has pointed out, it's not exactly a good look for Ryan to be seen campaigning with someone who is such a radical leftist and who has let her district fall into such disrepair. 

Cook Political Report only gives Ryan a slight edge in the race with a "Lean Democratic" ranking. 

Further, a recent Emerson College/Pix11/The Hill poll released last week also shows Esposito closing the gap. Ryan leads Esposito by 48-43 percent among likely voters, with 10 percent still undecided. 

Former and potentially future President Donald Trump also has a slight edge over Vice President Kamala Harris, by 48-47 percent. 

This poll was conducted October 1-3 with 630 likely voters in the 18th Congressional District and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.