The two Republican candidates for New York’s 11th Congressional District are in a heated competition that may rest on who is more supportive of President Donald Trump, who won the district in 2016 by about 25,000 votes, Politico reports.
Rep. Dan Donovan, the incumbent, has won the support of GOP leaders from Staten Island, where his district is located, New York and Washington. His opponent, former Rep. Michael Grimm, represented the district for about five years before he resigned and served eight months in prison for tax fraud. Now Grimm hopes this race is his chance for "a comeback as a Trump-style populist," according to Politico’s Laura Nahmias.
Grimm, a popular figure among the district’s residents for his work following Superstorm Sandy in 2012, has lambasted Donovan, who he calls "Desperate" or "Dishonest" Dan, for not being a consistent supporter of Trump, even though Donovan has voted in line with the president 84.5 percent of the time, according to Politico.
"Now he’s in a primary, he’s suddenly pro-Trump," Grimm told Politico.
Last month, Donovan introduced legislation to require post offices to display photographs of Trump and Vice President Mike Pence after a constituent complained that her local post office wasn’t doing so. Donovan even brought photographs of Trump and Pence when he made an appearance on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends,” a show Trump is known to watch.
"It was arguably the most desperate act I’ve ever seen a sitting member of Congress do," Grimm said. "But it was also the funniest."
The former congressman added: “Honestly, when he was on Fox, holding up those pictures, like a kid at show and tell, it was the first time I actually felt bad for him. I did. I actually felt that, he’s embarrassing himself. And I’ve known Dan for years. He’s embarrassing himself."
Donovan has responded by referring to Grimm as the "convict congressman," in radio ads released recently. He also blasted Grimm for allegedly filing a complaint with the Office of Congressional Ethics claiming that Donovan intervened in the arrest of his fiancée’s son in 2015, a claim that Donovan denies.
"My opponent set the tone,” Donovan said in an interview with Politico. “This is my seventh run and I’ve never had a race like this before, where an opponent dragged someone’s family into the race."
He added: "It’s just utterly disgusting that he would drag this young man’s life into the public when he’s struggling."
Grimm has denied filing any complaints or knowing who did.
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