Alison Esposito, who was the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor in the 2022 election, announced that she is running for the 18th Congressional District seat held by Rep. Pat Ryan.
Esposito made history as the first openly gay candidate to seek the lieutenant governor position. The Goshen resident is a 25-year veteran of the New York Police Department and served as a deputy inspector and commanding officer of the 70th Police Precinct.
“I’m not a career politician — I am and always will be a cop,” Esposito said in a statement. “I spent my life protecting the people of New York, and when I witnessed one-party, far-left rule turn our streets over to criminals, I knew continuing to protect my fellow New Yorkers meant doing something more.”
Esposito associated Ryan as being more beholden to the Biden administration than his Hudson Valley constituents.
“Right now, the Hudson Valley is represented by a defender of President Biden’s failed policies,” Esposito said of Ryan. “Instead of fighting for everyday hardworking families, our representative is fighting for his own self-interest. It’s time we have someone who represents our Hudson Valley values. I have taken on criminals in the streets of New York, and now it is time to take on the Washington political machine. It’s time to reclaim our American dream and save our beloved state and country.”
In a statement, Ryan expressed contempt for Esposito.
“We’ve got enough MAGA extremists in Congress; what we need are more Patriots who will rise above the partisanship to deliver for Hudson Valley families,” he said. “Esposito has called gun violence ‘a distraction,’ she wants a national abortion ban with no exceptions for rape or incest, she’s sold out to big corporations who are ripping off hard-working families, and she stands with insurrectionist traitors who want to overthrow our democracy.”
