GOP hopes to transform New York into battleground as party leaders focus on crime

Republican leaders have turned their attention to New York, with the aim of adding to their midterm gains and making the traditionally Democratic state a crucial battleground ahead of the 2024 election cycle.

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), the fourth-ranked House Republican who leads the House GOP conference, launched an initiative in the form of a battleground fund earlier this week to bolster Republican campaigns in New York as part of the party’s drive to safeguard their slim House majority in 2024. Stefanik has indicated that the fund is just the start as GOP leaders move to invest resources in the Empire State.

STEFANIK CREATES ‘BATTLEGROUND FUND’ IN NEW YORK TO HELP DEFEND GOP HOUSE MAJORITY

“The battleground fund is going to be one of many entities that will … likely be investing in these critical seats,” Stefanik told the Washington Examiner. “In any targeted race, there’s a lot of investments.”

In the 2022 cycle, Republicans won four seats in New York district, accounting for a third of their midterm gains that helped Republicans attain a House majority. Freshman Reps. Anthony D’Esposito, Marc Molinaro, George Santos, and Mike Lawler acquired these seats, unseating former Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Sean Patrick Maloney.

All four representatives will face reelection in 2024. Except for Santos’s, their campaigns will be a toss-up, as per nonpartisan Cook Political Report. Additionally, Molinaro and Santos are faced with fundraising debts that have accumulated from their expensive midterm campaigns which could put them at a disadvantage.

Despite these challenges, Stefanik believes that the GOP will retain all four seats and grow their influence in the Empire State. She points to several “pickup opportunities” in the Hudson Valley.

“New York delivered the House majority when we flipped four seats, and it’s ground zero for not only holding the majority but potentially expanding the majority,” Stefanik said. “The Battleground Fund is a way for us to invest and get out the vote [and] to educate voters … and that’s not just Republican voters but independents and Democrats as well.”

Republicans aim to paint the Democratic Party as too extreme for centrist voters, attacking them on multiple fronts. GOP lawmakers are revisiting their 2022 playbook, focusing on violent crime in New York.

“If you look at the results in 2022, Democrats reaped what they sowed,” Stefanik said. “Their policies created a historic, catastrophic crime crisis, and it’s a direct result of their failed bail reform and radical far-left district attorneys.”

Representatives in the GOP are leveraging the noticeable increase in crime rates in cities such as New York to accuse Democrats of being too lenient on crime. GOP leaders on the House Judiciary Committee have plans to investigate violent crime in New York and use it to criticize Democratic policies.

Stefanik will participate in this hearing, intending “to ensure that we are countering radical Democrats [and] that we are exposing the crime crisis,” she said.

“I’ll tell you what the victims have in common: Their families know that these heinous violent crimes are a result of Democrats like Alvin Bragg, [Gov.] Kathy Hochul, and Democrats in the delegation,” Stefanik said.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

All 435 seats are up for grabs in 2024 as Republicans seek to hold their slim majority in the lower chamber. Of these, 42 are considered competitive, with most of those held by Democrats compared to Republicans, giving the GOP a slight advantage as it prepares for the next election cycle.

However, of the 42 competitive seats, 18 are held by Republicans in districts that voted for President Joe Biden in 2020, compared to just five Democrats who must defend their seats in districts carried by former President Donald Trump. That means there are just enough vulnerable GOP-held seats to keep things competitive heading into the next election cycle.