Representative Pat Ryan, Democrat of New York, won a second full term on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press, holding a key swing district in his party’s quest to flip the House majority.
Mr. Ryan, a former Army intelligence officer, entered the Hudson Valley race as one of Republicans’ top national targets. The party nominated Alison Esposito, a conservative former New York City police commander and candidate for lieutenant governor who Republicans hoped would have crossover appeal.
But Mr. Ryan, 42, had little trouble dominating the race. He more than tripled her fund-raising haul. An independent streak enabled him to blunt attacks about the border and crime. And he attacked when Ms. Esposito appeared dismissive of some of voters’ most pressing concerns, including abortion rights and gun violence.
By the end of the race, Mr. Ryan appeared so confident in his standing that he was willing to embrace Democratic figures from whom other frontline candidates had shied away. They included Gov. Kathy Hochul and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, both of whom figured prominently in Republican attack ads.
The race was one of a half-dozen swing contests in New York on Tuesday that were expected to play an outsize role in the national battle for the House.
Mr. Ryan’s resounding victory could help cement his political standing as he seeks to take on a greater role in the Democratic Party, and potentially in New York.
Mr. Ryan bucked his party early and often during the race. He criticized President Biden’s hands-off approach to the southern border and later became one of the first Democratic elected officials to urge him to drop out.
But he also embraced progressive positions on abortion rights, railed against big private equity firms he accused of driving up housing costs and sparred with a local energy provider.
The post Pat Ryan Holds a Democratic House Swing Seat in New York appeared first on New York Times.
