NEW YORK — New York Democrats seeking to unseat vulnerable House Republicans are flipping the script on border security, attacking their Republican rivals on their key issue.
Republicans show no sign of relinquishing control of the conversation, especially as they criticize Kamala Harris’ designated role as “border czar” in the Biden administration.
But in swing districts around New York City, where tens of thousands of migrants live in taxpayer-funded shelters, Democratic House candidates condemn violent incidents linked to the new arrivals. They argue that the southern border is too porous and blame those in power — including fellow Democrats.
It is reminiscent of the campaign manual used by Tom Suozzia Democrat who won an off-cycle House race on Long Island in February.
“Any candidate running for office this year who doesn’t address border security — and doesn’t have a solid position and plan on it — risks turning off voters,” said Suozzi senior advisor Kim Devlin. in an interview.
Despite being criticized in public opinion polls on this issue, which is a priority for voters, Democrats are making border security a central focus of their campaigns.
Josh Riley in the Upstate and Laura Gillen on Long Island, both in rematches against House Republicans seeking a second term, are speaking freely on the issue and protesting the inaction of Republicans in Congress while scrutinizing the president Joe Biden.
Your rivals, the deputies. Marc Molinaro It is Anthony D’Esposito, have long spoken out against the dangers they say democratic border, immigration and bail laws pose to New Yorkers. The two introduced the Illegal Offender Registration Act earlier this month with other vulnerable New York City House representatives. Mike Lawler It is Brandon Williamsboth republicans.
Taking the fight to the Republicans worked for Suozzi; Riley and Gillen say they are responding to voters’ concerns. Furthermore, the districts they seek to represent are politically lean, moderate to conservative, so ignoring or avoiding the issue would be campaign malpractice.
“Democrats don’t always do well on immigration. It’s obviously a go-to attack for Republicans most of the time,” Lanae Erickson of the center-left think tank Third Way said in an interview. “It’s more like trying to reach an agreement with voters about who can handle immigration and show that we really care about the issue.”
The number of migrants illegally crossing the southern border it fell as Biden tightens asylum restrictions.
Still, Republicans are renewing their argument that their policies leave the country susceptible to threats like drug cartels, while portraying Democrats as opportunists for now putting the border front and center. Democrats have targeted elected Republicans for rejecting a bipartisan Senate border deal earlier this year following Suozzi’s successful message.
The swing districts are close enough to New York City to see how House Speaker Eric Adams’ administration has struggled to handle an influx of migrants over the past two years, as the movement of newcomers across the country and state has slowed. became points of political tension.
The Riley-Molinaro and Gillen-D’Esposito matchups are among six New York City House races that could determine which party controls the House next year.
Democrats hope to reverse the red tide that flipped four seats to Republicans in 2022. But in stressing the importance of border control, their candidates face the obvious challenge of conveying sincerity.
In upstate New York several weeks ago, Riley, a former Senate counsel, called a news conference to pit Biden, his fellow Democrat, and Molinaro, his Republican rival, on failed efforts to secure the border. , reiterating an argument he has been defending ever since. at least September.
Molinaro’s campaign called the attack ridiculous. And the freshman House member said in an interview: “Josh Riley was one of the key legal activists – 34 petitions to the United States Supreme Court – that led to the dismantling of Trump’s border security policies.”
Riley, as a lawyer, helped challenge Trump’s travel ban from several Muslim-majority countries.
“The fact that Molinaro is attacking me for this just shows how desperate he is to shift blame to other people instead of doing his job,” Riley responded in an interview, adding: “Career politicians on both sides of the corridor completely failed. us.”
For Gillen and D’Esposito, who are again competing in a Long Island district that borders New York City, it’s about connecting their rivals with their party’s standard-bearers on border security. Gillen, the former Democratic Hempstead Town Supervisor, emphasized that the border is of utmost importance to voters.
“We know what happened,” she said in an interview. “Trump said: This is a political issue, we are going to exploit it and we are not going to solve the problem. And my opponent agreed with him 100%.”
D’Esposito responded: “If Laura Gillen truly cared about protecting America’s borders instead of playing politics, she would demand to hold Kamala Harris accountable for her failure to end the migrant crisis while serving as the administration’s ‘border czar.’ ”.
Former Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman and Long Island Rep. Steve Israel said going on the offensive regarding the southern border and immigration means being responsive.
“A cardinal rule in politics is that you must meet voters where they are. If you are in a district where they say they are concerned about immigration, you need to have something sensible to say about it,” Israel said in an interview. “Whether it’s opportunistic or just what a good rep does is almost irrelevant.”
