Dylan Ratigan declares for Congress, shakes up Stefanik race
SARANAC LAKE — Former MSNBC host Dylan Ratigan declared his candidacy for Congress on Wednesday, cannonballing into the wide, shallow pool of Democrats hoping to challenge Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik in the northern reaches of New York state.
The 45-year-old is the ninth Democrat to seek the nomination in the 12-county 21st Congressional District, which has been a safe Republican bastion — minus five years of Democratic representation by Bill Owens during the Obama administration — since the Civil War. Stefanik was elected in 2014.
Ratigan said he has long thought about running for Congress, but had trouble untangling himself from a business that encourages veterans to set up solar-powered hydroponic farms and was increasingly dismayed with the “carnival” atmosphere of current political discourse.
“I’m presenting myself as who I am, with an intention to present myself as someone who can bring a level of resources and opportunity to this district that is unlike anyone else who’s running and can marry that with my understanding and knowledge of the district with a family that goes back to the 1700s,” he said. “I’m running because I actually believe that I have been trained over the course of my career ... to represent this district in a way that is higher-profile, [brings] more resources, more capacity, more opportunity than anybody that’s in this race right now.”
He spoke for 31 minutes in an upstairs room at the town hall here, before a crowd of more than 50 people that included his uncle, a local Catholic priest; about a dozen reporters; and a snuggly Hovawart named Birdie. The candidate’s mother jokingly introduced the dog as his sister.
Ratigan did not mention Stefanik or President Donald Trump by name. He said political campaigns are an "industry" made up of polls and tailoring "content" to play on the emotions of voters. He spoke without a script, and apologized that he did not acknowledge any of the officials he was supposed to thank. He had a regular colloquy with some of the attendees, including reporters, and joked when he used a “platitude."
He then pre-emptively discussed several “bombs” that would emerge during the campaign, including angry on-air rants, smoking marijuana and the fact that he has never voted and only last week registered to vote in the district.
more:
http://www.politico.com/states/new-york/albany/story/2018/02/21/dylan-ratigan-declares-for-congress-shakes-up-stefanik-race-267858
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