Congressman Michael Grimm’s Campaign Pitch: New York City Needs At Least One Republican In Congress

Congressman Michael Grimm addressed the Brooklyn Young Republican Club on Sunday, requesting the group’s support in what’s expected to be a fierce reelection campaign, saying that they must take his side to ensure there’s at least one GOP federal legislator representing New York City.

“I’m very optimistic with my chances. We have strong numbers. I’m a hard worker. I’ve assembled a good team,” Grimm said to the group, according to Politicker. “But I definitely need volunteers. So if there’s anyone here that would like to volunteer to make sure we keep at least one Republican at the federal level in New York City–at least one!–and then we need to start working on getting more … This is where it happens.”

Grimm is expected face off against former City Councilman Domenic Recchia, who is receiving strong fundraising and operational support from the national Democratic Party.

Grimm is seen as vulnerable, especially in light of a slew of recent headlines that appears to tie him to questionable fundraising practices. His campaign is also hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt from legal bills as he staves off an FBI investigation into fundraising during his 2010 campaign.

While Grimm didn’t talk about the investigation during the appearance, he did attack left-leaning ideology.

“This progressive liberal ideology is dangerous and it undermines everything this country was founded on,” he said.

He also placed blame for the GOP’s struggles on “branding problems.”

“We have a branding problem When you speak to younger people, especially females, they don’t truly understand what I see here – a diverse group,” he said. “What the Democrats have done is a good job of branding us as the white, rich elite.”

Grimm depicted Recchia as a “very liberal Democrat.”

Here’s his remarks in full: