Vulnerable NY Republican blasts Dem challenger's progressive endorsement after moderate showing at debate

Rep. Brandon Williams, R-N.Y., is blasting Democratic challenger John Mannion over his progressive endorsement despite the opponent painting himself as a moderate during Tuesday night's debate. 

The two are battling for control of New York's 22nd congressional district, which Democrats write off as an easy pick-up in their fight to reclaim control of the House. Williams won by one percentage point two years ago, and since then, the state legislature's redistricting removed rural areas strongly favored by former President Trump and added the college town of Cortland. The result is a changed central New York district where voters favored President Biden by 11 points in the 2020 presidential election.

"John Mannion painted a rosy picture of his views in last night’s debate, oddly attempting to run to the political right of Congressman Williams," Williams' spokesperson Taylor Weyeneth told Fox News Digital Wednesday. "However, he neglected to explain why he’s running on the anti-cop, pro-Hamas ballot line for the ‘Working Families Party’ and its grotesque policies. A note for John, it’s time to put actions behind your words—denounce the WFP or admit you are an extremist willing to do anything to get elected."

The two faced off during their third and final debate on Tuesday night. 

Mannion, though considered a moderate in Albany, was endorsed by the New York Working Families Party earlier this year and remains on their website's list of backed candidates. The progressive minority party's website says it's committed to "defeat fascism and build progressive power," and is reportedly linked to the larger Democratic Socialists of America, which endorses Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in New York. 

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In December 2023, the New York Post reported that the New York’s Working Families Party asked candidates seeking their endorsement for state offices to support $40 billion in tax increases, permitting migrants and non-citizens to vote and establishing more legalized drug-injection centers. 

Their questionnaire reportedly asked candidates, "Will you stand up for the right of all non-citizens, including undocumented New Yorkers, to vote in local and state elections, so they have a voice in the communities they live in and the schools their children go to?" 

"The WFP also asks if a candidate would back legislation or support using federal funds to provide health insurance coverage to more than 250,000 residents who are non-citizens or undocumented," another question posed to the state candidate read, according to the Post. 

It's not clear if Mannion faced the same questions. Fox News Digital reached out to the Mannion campaign for comment but did not immediately hear back. 

The Working Families Party, which also had advocated for defunding the police, has been vocal in demanding a cease-fire in Gaza and has accused Israel of carrying out "war crimes." 

"We have to stop the global authoritarian right-wing. Trump wants to criminalize protesters for Palestine," its account wrote in August. "He is Netanyahu's preferred candidate, who is behind the ethnic cleansing campaign that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and displaced and starved millions." 

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While national attention has been focused on districts closer to New York City as holding the key to the balance of power in Congress, the Democratic Party has dedicated significant resources to the central New York race between Williams and Mannion, sensing one of its best chances this fall.

In Mannion, a former school teacher and two-term state senator, Democrats have a candidate they're betting can appeal to swing voters. He has substantial support from labor unions, opposes abortion restrictions and has staked out a centrist position on changes to the state's bail laws.

Williams, meanwhile, has sought to frame Mannion as a liberal masquerading as a centrist.

"He has all of the credentials of the far left, but he’s going to pretend to be a Republican here for a couple of weeks, and with a wink and a nod and hoping that the Democrat base either forgives him or doesn’t notice," Williams said, according to the Associated Press. 

Williams, who grew up in Texas, served as a U.S. Navy submarine officer, then was a tech entrepreneur before starting a truffle farm in central New York, has spent much of the campaign trying to recapture the dynamic that helped him win a close race in 2022.

That year, Republican candidates in New York outperformed their national colleagues by capitalizing on a public backlash against changes in the state's bail laws. The changes restricted the practice of requiring many people accused of nonviolent crimes to pay money in order to get released from jail while they await trial.

Mannion was not in office when those bail changes passed, but he did back legislation that subsequently gave judges more discretion on whether to jail a person before trial, a change many progressives resisted but that moderates argued was necessary, according to the AP. 

The race started off mostly cordial but became increasingly caustic in the final stretch.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.