Folks off the east coast here in NY1 Congressional District are in one of the swingy-est suburban districts imaginable. It’s increasingly diverse, but just below the surface there’s some very nasty politics. Trump supporters in this district are becoming more vocal — and more intolerant.
Luckily Anna Throne-Holst, who is challenging Tea Party hack (and Trump apologist) Lee Zeldin, has a shot at turning NY1 blue again. But she needs our support. Her biggest obstacle is that she’s relatively unknown, and facing off against an incumbent — a tough challenge in a very split district like this one.
Zeldin’s has tried to fly below the radar recently, so it’s worth repeating that he was one of Trump’s first supporters in the GOP. He vocally defended Trump’s racist comments last summer, going so far as to suggest that President Obama was a racist — or even some kind of “secret agent” — so Trump’s dismissal of Judge Curiel as a legitimate jurist was fine.
At last Sunday’s debate, Throne-Holst highlighted her positions on global warming, immigration reform and was particularly strong on gun safety:
“The skating and slip-sliding around this issue is almost comical to me,” said Ms. Throne-Holst. “Lee Zeldin leads the way, 28 times opposing the legislation on the no fly, no buy list. We are in a crisis situation today. The bill that Mr. Zeldin has put forward is happily supported by the NRA, but is not supported by law enforcement around the country.”
Here’s her latest ad on background checks:
Throne-Holst also forcefully took Zeldin to task for his refusal to pull back his support for Donald Trump:
“I’m a mother of four athletes, and they have spent more time in locker rooms than Mr. Trump,” she said. “They are offended that he called this locker room talk. They have never heard locker room banter like that.”
“No man I know is ok with this,” she added, and then questioned why “Mr. Zeldin’s moral compass is so off that he will troll for votes” among people who support Donald Trump.
“As a father and a husband, he doesn’t stand up against that. That to me is a real issue and it goes way beyond anything else,” she said.
From everything I’ve read, Anna Throne-Holst has is clear-thinking, thoughtful, and right on the issues. The recent Newsday poll shows Zeldin ahead, but that poll pre-dated her debate performance — and also Trump’s recent meltdown(s).
There’s a real opportunity here in the next three weeks.
There are a lot of Trump supporters out here in Suffolk County, and they are feeling empowered this season. By electing Anna Throne-Holst, we can send a strong message that we value our diversity, our environment, that we believe in sane and sensible gun safety laws.
Donate to Anna Throne-Holst and let’s turn the House Blue!