NY Republican Alison Esposito considering challenge to Democratic Rep. Pat Ryan
Emily Jacobs
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Alison Esposito, who was New York’s GOP lieutenant governor candidate last year, is mulling a challenge to Rep. Pat Ryan (D-NY) in 2024, the Washington Examiner has learned.
Esposito is a 25 year veteran of the New York City Police Department who retired from the force last summer to be then-Rep. Lee Zeldin’s (R-NY) running mate in his gubernatorial race against Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY). While they lost that race by six points, Zeldin and Esposito performed impressively for Republicans in deep blue New York and were credited with producing down-ballot wins throughout the state. A source close to Esposito tells the Washington Examiner that she is now considering a House bid.
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“Alison Esposito is exploring the different ways she can serve New Yorkers. Running for Congress, among other offices, is definitely on that list,” the source said.
Ryan represents what’s become a swing district encompassing the Catskills and parts of Hudson Valley, located about 80 miles north of New York City. The Democrat beat Rep. Marc Molinaro (R-NY) in an August 2022 special election for the House seat for the state’s 19th Congressional district, despite the Republican being ahead in the polls. The seat became vacant when Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado (D-NY) resigned to become Hochul’s running mate.
Molinaro opted against challenging Ryan again in November, instead running — and winning — the general election race for the state’s 19th Congressional district. Ryan, meanwhile, held onto his seat by a slim margin against a new challenger in the November race.
Despite being in a swing district, unseating the House Democrat won’t be an easy feat. Ryan raised an impressive $1.1 million in the first quarter of 2023, Federal Election Commission filings show. He has just over $941,000 cash on hand as of March 31 of this year. Given that Esposito hasn’t filed to run with the FEC, her finances remain unknown.
Despite the challenge, one House Republican aide says they see Esposito, a gay woman, as a strong general election contender.
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“Esposito would be a wildly impressive candidate with the proven ability to appeal to both staunch Republicans and voters in the middle,” a GOP operative said.
A spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, the House GOP campaign arm, told the Washington Examiner that the NRCC could not comment on Esposito’s prospective candidacy.