Why the GOP House Speaker is barnstorming blue New York

In an election that’s been full of surprises, one of the biggest has been hiding in plain sight: New York’s status as a battleground state is as unlikely as it is unshakeable.

While states like Pennsylvania, Arizona and Georgia will determine who sits in the Oval Office, keen eyes are also on the Empire State, where the battle for control of the House of Representatives is taking center stage.

That’s why, with less than a week to go in this election, the two of us — the sitting Speaker of the House and the New Yorker who nearly unseated Gov. Hochul — are hitting the road together across New York.

Over the next few days, we’ll be crisscrossing key House districts to help Republican incumbents and candidates clinch majority-making wins.

Our New York efforts in 2022 delivered a Republican House majority, and it will be our victories in New York this year that keep it.

Many have questioned how this state — one with only 22% Republican enrollment — has become home to some of the most competitive congressional races in the country, but to us, it is obvious.

Republicans are consistently showing up in longtime Democrat communities with winning solutions to the most pressing issues of the day.

Our statewide swing starts Wednesday on Long Island, with Reps. Nick LaLota (NY-1), Andrew Garbarino (NY-2) and Anthony D’Esposito (NY-4), and candidate Mike LiPetri (NY-3).

Residents in Suffolk, Nassau and Queens Counties are fed up with the consequences of Democratic policies — including a 1,000-bed migrant shelter on the Queens-Nassau border that has transformed the streets where their children used to play.

They have voiced their outrage and refuse to allow their neighborhoods to fall victim to the reckless priorities of liberals in New York City, Albany and the Washington, DC, establishment.

From there, we’re traveling across the Hudson Valley, starting in Rockland County with Rep. Mike Lawler (NY-17). His constituents, many of whom commute to nearby New York City for work every morning, remain skeptical of Kathy Hochul’s congestion pricing “pause” — which she’s already signaled she will slap back on at the first possible opportunity post-Election Day.

The suburban residents of NY-17 are feeling less safe walking their streets and riding the subway to work, and they understand the state’s pro-criminal policies will only continue to worsen these legitimate fears.

This district also uniquely comprises a large Jewish population that’s ditching a party that has coddled pro-Hamas extremism since Oct. 7.

House Republicans led the charge to support Israel and root out antisemitism on college campuses, and we will not stop there to keep every community safe.

Subscribe to our daily Post Opinion newsletter!

Please provide a valid email address.

By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Never miss a story.

Likewise, constituents of NY-18 are calling out Democratic Rep. Pat Ryan’s embrace of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the far left.

The failing Biden-Harris economy and broken border are by far the top issues here, and Ryan voted in lockstep with the Squad to trigger record inflation while failing to take action to secure the porous southern border.

As a county executive in this district, Ryan even signed an executive order that made it a sanctuary jurisdiction.

His Republican challenger, Alison Esposito, left her post at the NYPD after 25 years to answer a greater call to service in her hometown.

She has been gaining full steam in the home stretch, and we are fired up to pound the pavement for her in Orange County.

Farther north, in the Hudson Valley and Catskills and in Central New York, residents are bearing the burden of over-taxation and regulation due to federal and state policies.

They are being forced to pick up extra shifts at work — or even a second and third job — to afford basic necessities like gas, groceries and clothing.

Their congressmen, Reps. Marc Molinaro (NY-19) and Brandon Williams (NY-22), are running in razor-close re-election bids, but they have delivered for their constituents.

We’re confident they will emerge victorious to build a House majority for families eager for a return to secure borders, lower costs, safer streets and peace through strength.

The Democrats’ Senate majority led by Chuck Schumer has refused to bring crucial House-passed bills to the floor — bills like HR 1 to lower energy costs, HR 2 to secure our border, and the SAVE Act to keep non-citizens from voting in our elections.

Their inaction proves the Democrats don’t care about solving the issues that matter most to Americans.

If you want Congress to enact policies that will reverse the current decline of our nation, then it’s imperative to re-elect a Republican House to work with a Republican Senate and president come January 2025.

That’s why we’re in New York this week: The crucial races in this state will determine the balance of power in Washington.

With the whole nation and world watching, we won’t sit on the sidelines. Join us — and let’s do everything in our power to save America.

Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) is Speaker of the US House of Representatives. Lee Zeldin (R) represented Suffolk County in the House from 2015 to 2023.