Why Alison Esposito is running for Congress

Trending List

With help from Jason Beeferman

Republican Alison Esposito learned a lot from her first run for elected office last year — and she’s using it to fuel her campaign for a closely watched House seat in the Hudson Valley.

She came within about 6 percentage points of becoming the first Republican lieutenant governor in more than 20 years when she was former Rep. Lee Zeldin’s running mate in last year’s gubernatorial campaign.

Now, as she runs for the GOP nomination for a pivotal district north of New York City, Esposito sees many of the same issues animating voters heading into 2024 that drove them to the polls a year ago.

That includes crime, immigration and the economy, she told Playbook in an interview.

“We made a commitment to the people of New York state that we were going to help them,” she said. “Just because we came up short doesn’t change my commitment to the people of New York state.”

Esposito is running to unseat Democratic freshman Pat Ryan in one of the few New York House seats Republicans expect to play offense in next year. An estimated six seats are considered to be in play; nearly all are represented by Republicans.

Esposito, a retired New York City police officer, expects voters will be concerned over the migrant crisis as well as public safety.

“What’s happening in New York City affects all of the people in the suburbs,” she said. “Crime doesn’t just stay in the city, and that’s what we’re seeing now.”

But already Democrats are scrutinizing her record. Ryan, a fundraising powerhouse among Democratic freshmen in vulnerable districts, is expected to run heavily on his support for abortion rights.

The House Democrats’ campaign arm in a statement also cast Esposito as a carpetbagger.

“A New York City resident who has been district shopping for a congressional run for months, Alison Esposito is launching a MAGA campaign aligned with the extremist fringes of the Republican Party,” DCCC spokesperson Ellie Dougherty said. “Esposito’s staunch anti-abortion and anti-gun safety record would make life more dangerous for Hudson Valley families.”

Speaking with Playbook, Esposito cast her abortion stance as one that would provide more support for pregnant women, including financial and health care resources. Abortion should be “rare and not used as birth control,” she said.

Esposito also confirmed she had changed her voter registration from New York City to an address in the district earlier this month — days before she formally announced her campaign.

She built a home in Orange County in 2005, but also kept a place in the city, Esposito said.

Esposito also pointed to her childhood in Orange County and her longtime ties to the district, like being a lifeguard at Harriman State Park.

“This is where I grew up,” she said. “I feel like if I couldn’t do something statewide, I would start something districtwide.” — Nick Reisman

IT’S THURSDAY. Got news? Send it our way: Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman.

WHERE’S KATHY? In Florida with no public schedule.

WHERE’S ERIC? Making a public safety-related announcement with NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban, speaking at the unveiling of the “We ❤️ NYC” sculpture in Times Square and kicking off a coat drive, speaking at a flag-raising ceremony for Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, appearing on ABC’s “GMA3,” hosting an older adult town hall and presenting a proclamation at a gala to benefit families of fallen first responders.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I am responsible for activating a fire alarm, I will be paying the fine issued, and look forward to these charges being ultimately dropped.” — Rep. Jamaal Bowman reacting to the misdemeanor charge brought by the District of Columbia’s attorney general after he triggered a fire alarm during a chaotic vote for a stopgap spending measure.

HELLO JOHNSON, BYE-BYE FRESHMEN?: As Republican Rep. Mike Lawler cast his vote for Rep. Mike Johnson for speaker of the House, Rep. Nydia Velázquez yelled out “bye-bye,” Semafor reported.

Velázquez was sharing the hopes of many of her fellow Democrats — that the unanimous Republican vote to elevate Johnson would keep Lawler and other swing seat GOP freshmen from getting reelected next year.

Johnson was Donald Trump’s latest pick, and Democrats were quick to highlight his conservative opposition to gay marriage, abortion and the certification of President Joe Biden’s election.

“I think every single New York Republican who voted for Johnson has made clear they’re no moderate,” Kyle Herrig, the executive director of the advocacy group Congressional Integrity Project, told Playbook. “They’re MAGA through and through.”

Herrig acknowledges Johnson is not yet a household name, giving Democrats an opportunity to define a figure who for most voters is a blank slate.

Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman told Playbook: “The list goes on as to the extreme positions that Mike Johnson has supported and that now is hung around the neck of every Republican in New York.”

Lawler praised Johnson on X as “unfailingly kind, smart, principled.”

He and fellow first year Rep. Marc Molinaro both framed the vote as one that’ll let the House get back to work after a Republican faction ousted Kevin McCarthy three weeks ago. — Jeff Coltin, Nick Reisman and Emily Ngo

ADAMS BACKS BRANNAN — THAT’S IT: Things have been tense between Mayor Eric Adams and the City Council leadership lately, but the mayor is putting that aside to formally endorse City Council Finance Chair Justin Brannan for reelection.

“I’ve known Justin for a long time, and he’s always been someone who knows how to cut through the noise to get stuff done,” Adams said in a statement exclusively to Playbook. “He is an important leader in the City Council and someone who always puts the needs of the hardworking outer-boroughs first.”

Adams has made a habit of endorsing moderate Democrats in primaries against progressives, but he’s been quiet so far ahead of the general election. Asked earlier this month if he was worried about Republicans gaining seats in the council, Adams didn’t take the opportunity to boost any Democrats, just saying candidates needed to speak to voters.

Brannan is facing Republican Council Member Ari Kagan in a southern Brooklyn district that Adams himself lost to Curtis Sliwa by half a percentage point.

That may help explain Adams’ silence. The mayor likely isn’t too popular in districts with tight races. Council Member Sandra Ung’s campaign, for example, said they didn’t ask for Adams’ endorsement, instead focusing on local power players like Rep. Grace Meng and state Sen. John Liu.

Adams political adviser Evan Thies says “wait and see” on other endorsements. — Jeff Coltin

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Nearly 50 Democratic state lawmakers have signed onto a letter telling Gov. Kathy Hochul to stop backing Adams’ efforts to roll back the right to shelter in New York City.

Doing so “would put countless vulnerable people at risk of grave harm and could forever change the landscape of New York in unpredictable and deleterious ways,” the letter reads.

The legislators say they’re eager to work on legislation in the next session to address the shortage of affordable housing — after pretty much nothing in that area passed this year.

The effort was organized by the Coalition for the Homeless, one of the parties on the other side of the negotiating table from Adams.

Among the signers are some of Adams’ usual progressive critics, but it also includes staunch allies like Assemblymember Eddie Gibbs and state Sen. Kevin Parker. — Jeff Coltin