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It’s been more than 30 years since a Republican’s won a House election in Rhode Island’s Second Congressional District, which covers the western half of the nation’s smallest state.
But Republican congressional nominee Allan Fung is aiming to break the losing streak in November’s midterm elections.
"I’ve proven over 12 years as mayor of our state’s second-largest city… that I can lead, I can win," Fung said in a Fox News interview.
And Fung is one of a handful of GOP congressional nominees across the country who have a good shot at winning long-time Democratic held House seats in solidly blue states.
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Former Cranston, Rhode Island Mayor Allan Fung, the Republican nominee in the state's 2nd Congressional District, speaks with voters in Hope, R.I. on Sept. 18, 2022 (Allan Fung campaign)
The former longtime mayor of Cranston, who made history as the first mayor of Chinese ancestry in Rhode Island, and the state’s 2014 and 2018 gubernatorial nominee, touted that he governed "by working across the aisle, doing the right thing, bringing common sense solutions, and that’s the same type of attitude that I’ll bring down to Washington D.C."
Fung, who describes himself as a moderate by fiscally conservative Republican, is facing off in November against Democratic State Treasurer Seth Magaziner in the race to succeed retiring Democratic Rep. Jim Langevin, who’s held the seat for over two decades.
While national Democrats label Fung as an extremist Republican, he highlighted that "Democratic Majority Leader Steny Hoyer even noted that I’m not an extremist." And he pointed out that members of Rhode Island’s all-Democrat federal delegation "have called me a nice guy and that’s the reputation I’ve built, that’s who I am and that’s what I’ll be down in Washington D.C."
On the combustible issue of legalized abortion, Fund said that he would fight "to preserve access in the early stages," as well as for "really difficult late-term abortions in the case life of the mother, rape and incest."
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Asked if elected would he be willing to buck GOP leadership in the House, Fung told Fox News: "I’m voting for the people of the state of Rhode Island. That’s first and foremost my priority. Whatever issue comes up, I’ll be a voice for them."
Jacob Rubashkin, an analyst for the nonpartisan political handicapper Inside Elections, emphasized that "Allan Fung may be the best Republican House candidate in the country. And there’s a reason why he’s been able to take a fairly Democratic district" and make it "it highly, highly competitive."
But Fung is far from alone this cycle, as the GOP aims to win back the House majority it lost in 2018.
(Fox News)
In the blue state of Oregon’s 5th Congressional District, where it’s been over a quarter-century since a Republican last won election, GOP nominee Lori Chavez-DeRemer is locked in a very competitive battle with Democrat Jamie McLeod-Skinner in the race to succeed longtime Democratic Rep. Kurt Schrader, whom McLeod-Skinner defeated in their party’s primary.
There are also competitive races this cycle in Oregon’s 4th Congressional District, where Democrat Peter DeFazio’s retiring after 35 years in the House, and the newly created 6th Congressional District. In California’s 49th Congressional District, two-term Democratic Rep. Mike Levin faces a difficult re-election in rematch with GOP nominee Brian Maryott, the former mayor of San Juan Capistrano. And in New York’s 17th Congressional District, where no Republican has won in 40 years, GOP challenger Michael Lawler is staying competitive against Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chair Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney.
"Anything that [President] Biden won certainly by 10 points or less and even 15 points or less in the right circumstances is going to be competitive this year if only because the president is significantly underwater, and voters are upset with the direction of the country. That is the overarching theme that puts all of these districts into play," Rubashkin said. "If you’re a Democrat in a district that voted for Biden by single digits, you have a real race on your hands."
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"It then becomes incumbent on Republicans to not just make those real races, but those races that they can win. What you see in some of the most competitive of those places is really strong Republican candidates," he noted.
National Republican Congressional Committee communications director Michael McAdams argued that the "Democrats’ damaging economic agenda and pro-criminal policies have put traditionally blue seats squarely in play. House Republicans have the candidates, message, and resources to win here and all over the country."
But DCCC spokesperson Chris Taylor claimed that "these districts have been considered competitive since the day they were drawn — The idea that Republicans have gained momentum while they rip away fifty years of women’s freedom is absurd. The NRCC’s MAGA Republicans are scared and grasping for straws because their dreams of flipping 70 seats aren't coming to pass."
It's not just House races.
Oregon GOP gubernatorial candidate Christine Drazan speaks with a supporter at a campaign stop. (Christine Drazan Campaign)
In Oregon, Christine Drazan has a shot at becoming the first Republican gubernatorial nominee in four decades to win election.
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Rubashkin highlighted that regardless of the losing streak by Republicans, "Oregon has competitive gubernatorial races" and that the GOP contenders "always come kind of close."
And this time around, an independent bid by former Democratic state Sen. Betsy Johnson may take enough votes away from Democratic nominee and former state House Speaker Tina Kotek, to give Drazan, the former state House minority leader, a victory.
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