New York Democrat Congressional candidate Matt Castelli in a recent interview dubbed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) an “authoritarian,” as midterm pressure is mounting for Democrats just 41 days away from the election.
“I think Nancy Pelosi is an authoritarian,” Castelli said Tuesday on the Jeff Graham show. “And I’m not going to support her for another term as Speaker. I think she breaks her promises and tries to rule by division. And we need somebody who is going to bring folks together.”
Castelli calling Pelosi an authoritarian is notable because he is a Democrat running against GOP Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik in New York’s 21st congressional district. The district is rated a R+8 by the Cook Political Report, which seems to indicate Castelli is becoming politically desperate just 41 days away from election day.
Breitbart News requested comment from Castelli’s campaign about the inter-party name calling. No reply was immediately returned.
Breitbart News also reached out to Pelosi’s office and the Democrat Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) to receive a response to Castelli’s comment that Pelosi is an authoritarian. No comment was immediately provided. It should be noted the DCCC has appeared to stay away from supporting Castelli in his race against the third highest ranking House Republican.
A campaign spokesperson for Stefanik told Breitbart News Castelli was “mimicking” the GOP congresswoman’s opinion that Pelosi is indeed an authoritarian. “His desperate campaign is failing and going nowhere, the DCCC has written him off as yet another Democrat who will lose by double digits to Elise Stefanik.”
“Far Left Downstate Democrat from Poughkeepsie Matt Castelli tried to hide the endorsement of gun-grabbing governor Kathy Hochul on his website. He then admitted that he will vote for Hochul in November,” Alex DeGrasse, senior adviser to Stefanik said. “Castelli has no path to victory, North Country and Upstate New York voters will send him packing back downstate to Poughkeepsie.”
A senior GOP strategist familiar with the midterm election told Breitbart News that Castelli claims to be a moderate, but would vote with Pelosi nearly 100 percent of the time in Congress.
“Castelli claims to be a moderate, however he wants to join caucus that votes almost 100 percent in lockstep with Nancy Pelosi. It’s a complete sham that he is acting independent, when in reality he would be a puppet for Pelosi,” the strategist said.
Last week, Castelli finally admitted he is endorsed by radical Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) after refusing to tout the governor’s endorsement on his campaign website, Breitbart News first reported. Castelli’s list of online endorsements omits any mention of Hochul, a notable political calculation.
According to the Cook Political Report, New York’s 21st district is a R+8, and in 2018 when it was Cuomo/Hochul on the ballot, they lost to the Republicans by 26 percent.
Stefanik is the third highest-ranking Republican House member. In 2021, she displaced outgoing establishment Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) as GOP Conference Chair, a powerful position within Republican leadership that centers on party fundraising.
Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.
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