NORTH SCITUATE, R.I. – EXCLUSIVE: As he aims to do what no Republican has done in more than three decades, Allan Fung highlights his independence from GOP leadership.
“I’m a Republican yes, but most importantly I’m going to go down to Washington, D.C., to vote with the people of the state of Rhode Island and vote their values and be a voice for them,” Fung pledged in a Fox News interview as he campaigned at the annual Scituate Art Festival in the northwest corner of this southern New England state.
Fung is the former longtime mayor of Cranston – the state’s second-largest city – who made history as the first mayor of Chinese ancestry in Rhode Island. He was also the state’s 2014 and 2018 GOP gubernatorial nominee.
Now, he is aiming to make history again in this solidly blue state. It has been 34 years since a Republican has won a House election in Rhode Island’s Second Congressional District, which covers the western half of the nation’s smallest state. However, Fung, the GOP’s nominee in the district, may break the losing streak in November’s midterm elections.
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Former Republican Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey (left) joins GOP nominee Allan Fung in Rhode Island’s Second Congressional District (center), greet voters at the Scituate Art Festival, on Oct. 10, 2022 in North Scituate, Rhode Island. (Fox News )
The latest sign Fung may be successful in flipping the seat – a Suffolk University poll for the Boston Globe released on Tuesday indicated the GOP nominee with an eight-point lead over Democratic State Treasurer Seth Magaziner, in the race to succeed retiring Democratic Rep. Jim Langevin, who’s held the seat for over two decades.
Fung is getting some high-profile help on the campaign trail. As he shook hands with festival goers for an hour, Fung was joined by one of the most recognizable faces in the GOP – former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a 2016 Republican presidential candidate who remains one his party’s most effective communicators.
“As a blue state governor, I can relate to the idea that you need to work with everybody, you need to listen to all voices and try to bring people together,” Christie told Fox News. “That’s what he does. That what he does every day here in Rhode Island already. And that’s what he’ll do in Congress. We need more people like Alan in Congress, not fewer. That’s why I decided to spend the day, Columbus Day, up here in Rhode Island.”
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Christie touted that “he’s kind of guy who has principles. People know what he stands for. But he also has a great heart, and he reaches out to everybody who needs him.”
Christie is not the only major Republican to come to Rhode Island on behalf of Fung. House Minority leader Kevin McCarthy, who is in line to become House speaker if the GOP wins back the majority, joined Fung in August. National Republican Congressional Committee chair Rep. Tom Emmer also trekked to Rhode Island to help Fung. Additionally, the House Leadership Fund, the top super PAC aligned with Republican leadership in the chamber, has shelled out $1 million so far this cycle to boost Fung.
Fung, who describes himself as a moderate but fiscally conservative Republican, emphasized that “people know my track record of working across the aisle doing the right thing for people and that’s what I want to bring down to Washington, D.C.”
“I am about helping people. We’re in economic crisis right now, a cost-of-living crisis that’s impacting all walks of life,” he added.
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Pointing to the likely take-over of the House majority by the GOP – the party needs a net gain of just five seats in November to regain control of the 435-member chamber. Fung said he wants to make sure that “when we take back the House, Rhode Islanders have someone part of that majority that’s going to do what’s right for all of us. Drive down these energy prices, making sure we drive down inflation to and that’s what I’ve been about and what I will do down in Washington, D.C., for all Rhode Islanders.”
However, Magaziner and congressional Democrats are not buying what Fung is selling.
“My opponent can call himself whatever he wants, but his record speaks for itself,” Magaziner told Fox News.
When asked about the latest public opinion poll in the race, which indicates Fung with a mid-single digit advantage and making some inroads among Democrats, Magaziner emphasized, “We’re very confident we’re going to win this race not just by shoring up our support among Democrats but by winning independents over as well.”
Magaziner said, “The way that we’re going to do that is just by making sure that people know where my opponent stands on the issues and where Kevin McCarthy and the House Republicans stand on the issues, because on every issue that matters to people, they are out of step with where Rhode Islanders are.”
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“On every single thing that matters to people here in Rhode Island, Allan Fung has a history of being on the wrong side of the issue,” Magaziner charged. “And Kevin McCarthy and the Republican leadership that he wants to empower are certainly out of step where most Rhode Islanders are. I think for us is just about making sure that people understand what the consequences would be for their lives if the Republicans take control for Congress.”
While national Democrats label Fung as an extreme Republican, he has repeatedly noted that Democratic Majority Leader Steny Hoyer recently said “I was not an extremist.”
Allan Fung, the Republican nominee in Rhode Island’s Second Congressional District, shakes hands with voters at the Scituate Art Festival, on Oct. 10, 2022 in North Scituate, R.I. (Fox News )
“The message isn’t working because I trust the people of the state of Rhode Island, and they know my track record 12 years as mayor. We’ve done the right thing.” He touted that his “message is resonating,” and claimed “that’s why they’re just throwing everything at the wall. Nothing’s sticking.”
Magaziner charged that Fung “opposed the Affordable Care Act and said it should be repeated. That is certainly not something that Rhode Islanders want because 70,000 Rhode Islanders would lose their health insurance and the Affordable Care Act is very popular here. And the list goes on and on. Access to abortion, gun safety laws, the minimum wage and supporting workers.”
When asked where he stands on abortion, Fung said “look, I have been clear on this issue. First and foremost, I will never never support a national abortion ban nor would I seek to criminalize it. I’ve said that on multiple shows, multiple interviews that I’ve done. They’re just outright lying about my position.”
Additionally, when asked if he would buck his party’s leadership on key votes, Fung vowed “I’m going down there to be a voice for Rhode Islanders. I will take whatever vote that’s necessary that helps our Rhode Island people that are hurting…I will do the right things for all Rhode Islanders.”
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Fung is not the only Republican with a good shot of flipping a solidly blue district red this November. There are a handful of others across the country.
Jacob Rubashkin, an analyst for the nonpartisan political handicapper Inside Elections, pointed to Fung’s moderate standing in a party that has moved farther to the right, and argued 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 “highly, highly competitive.”
