speaker and allison esposito thank you for being here today. let me start with you you are a former new york city police department deputy and you also ran as i said per governor last time around. tell me what you are seeing in this raise, not able to close the deal with lee's eldon, what is different now and what makes you think you can overcome a race we have leaning democrat in our estimation? >> we are in a different time right now, yes i served with the nypd 25 years i was a deputy inspector and commander. the people are suffering now, your in the hudson valley i hear it every day. it's the economy, it's crime law and order public safety it's the out-of-control border crazes and we have erased two years ago we came just short at turning a deep blue new york state but we won this district by three points. the people here in the hudson valley are ready for it changed my opponent pat ryan is not standing on policy khakis not standing up position, he's only putting forth lies about my campaign, by policies in my situations. anything he can bec

esposito: is there a question here? rep. ryan: yeah, allison's taken thousands of dollars from central hudson's lobbyists, who are literally advocating to raise utility rates. i think you need to explain that to the voters of the district. ms. esposito: pat ryan is the lack of integrity in almost all of his statements is absolutely ridiculous. first of all, the green new deal and the attack on energy is what's hiking up our energy bills, and it's absolutely ludicrous. we could be diversifying and energy independent, not only in the country, but in new york state, driving down the cost of electricity, driving down the cost of gasoline, natural resource extraction that's responsible and clean, instead of paying billions of dollars overseas to our adversaries who are calling for death to america and death to israel. this is absolutely ludicrous. while i was running with congressman lee elden in 2022, there was a deal cut in albany to allow for them to raise their prices on our consumers in exchange for no new gas hookups and applications for pipelin

allison esposito, republican, found out the hard way in a conversation with one of her own supporterstrict 18 has captured this week by our great colleague. >> as far as abortion my opponent wants to make this entire election about abortion. and it's not even a factor in this race. >> my question to voters is a walking around, i appreciate your support very much. if i had a magic wand and i can fix something, day one, what do you think is the biggest issue right now facing the american public? what would you like to see fixed first? >> i would like to see a timeline on abortion. in other words, how can i put it? we don't think that people should be told, no you can't. you can't wait. >> we just had this conversation. we just had this conversation. >> you can't wait until the very end and say, four months. a four-month cutoff. if you don't know by then or you haven't decided by then. >> but that's funny. we were saying abortion doesn't come up. >> so funny. >> might not be what we thought he was going to say. >> but that's not usually the top issue. but it is still an issue on people's

. >> reporter: his opponent allison esposito, a former cop, hoping to overtake him. >> it's crime, publicd the economy, the border crisis, the attack on our kids' education. as far as abortion my opponent wants to make this entire election about abortion. it's not even a factor in this race. >> what would you like to see fixed first? >> i would like to see a timeline on abortion. >> that's funny. we were saying abortion doesn't come up. he cares. >> so funny. >> reporter: new york's 18th congressional district could decide who controls congress. in 2022 democrats lost five competitive house races in this blue state, helping republicans win the majority. including the 17th district where republican mike lawler bested the head of the campaign arm and hoping to keep this seat red. >> do you still deserve it after the last two years? >> yeah. >> it's been pretty chaotic. >> sure, but at the end of the day name me one thing chuck schumer has accomplished. >> reporter: his opponent disagrees. >> what's your unfinished business in congress? >> i'm proud of the work i started last term as part of

. >> reporter: his opponent, allison esposito, a former cop hoping to overtake him. >> it's crime, publiceconomy, the border crisis, the attack on our kids' education. as far as abortion, my opponent wants to make this entire election about abortion. it's not even a factor in this race. what would you like to see fixed? >> i would like to see a time line on abortion. >> reporter: we were saying it doesn't come up. he cares. new york's 18th congressional district is one of seven seats that could decide who controls congress. in 2022, democrats lost five competitive house races in this blue state, helping republicans win the majority. including the 17th district, where republican mike lawler bested the head of the democratic campaign arm and is hoping to keep the seat red. do you still deserve it? >> yeah. i think -- >> reporter: it's been chaotic. >> sure. name me one thing chuck schumer and senate democrats have accomplished. not much. >> reporter: a former congressman disagrees. what's your unfinished business in congress in. >> i'm proud of the work that i started last time as part of a