State Republicans have spoken.

New York Republicans on Thursday designated former NYPD detective and business owner Mike Sapraicone as their preferred candidate to run against U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand this fall. Gillibrand is running her fourth campaign and seeking her third full six-year term.

About 85% of state Republican delegates threw their support behind Sapraicone at Thursday’s state Republican convention, hosted by the Broome County GOP in Binghamton at the Doubletree by Hilton hotel.

Two other candidates, Republican businessman and chairman of the George Pataki Foundation Josh Eisen, and Cara Castronuova, a Trump supporter and conservative journalist, did not receive 25% of the weighted vote that would trigger their names to appear on a primary ballot, but could still petition to be on the primary ballot in June.

Sapraicone said he was honored by the nomination and looked forward to working to hitting the ground running.

With overwhelming support, party officials Thursday said Sapraicone, from Long Island, will be the best candidate to advance the Republican message, focusing on improving public safety, the cost of living and the economy.

“What's important for us to do now is to keep this party strong and united,” Sapraicone said. “Whatever it takes to unite, if we're going to come together and defeat Gillibrand, we have to come together.”

Sapraicone worked with the NYPD for 20 years and now runs a company that provides security services to New York-based businesses. A resident of Long Island, Sapraicone also mounted a brief campaign for former Rep. George Santos’ seat in the state's 3rd Congressional District before the Republican lawmaker was expelled from the U.S. House of Representatives.

The Southern Tier city of Binghamton has the majority of the electorate of the 11-county 19th Congressional District represented by Rep. Marc Molinaro, who is seeking reelection. The critical race brought U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson on Thursday for a brief visit to Binghamton and Syracuse as the GOP prepares for tough contests to maintain House control. Johnson did not take questions from reporters at any event.

Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans 2:1 in New York, with 6.4 million registered Democratic voters compared to 2.9 million registered Republicans, according to the state Board of Elections on Thursday. The state has 3.1 million unaffiliated voters who are not enrolled in a political party.

The other two Senate candidates got less than 10% of party support each, meaning they must petition for thousands of signatures to trigger a Republican primary and be on the ballot June 25.

Castronuova received 8.04% of party support while Eisen, who ran for a Hudson Valley congressional seat in 2020, finished the convention with 7.78%.

The candidates could forego a contest and support Sapraicone to unify the party against Gillibrand, but Eisen said he won't back down. He argued Sapraicone does not share the GOP’s values because he donated $1,000 to Democrat New York Attorney General Letitia James' campaign in the past.

Sapraicone on Thursday defended his past financial contributions, and said he’s donated $500,000 to the Republican Party by comparison.

“I'm a businessman in New York City, in Long Island and New York state,” Sapraicone told reporters. “Anyone who does business in this country and this city donates to both sides of the aisle. I've never taken a local contract from a county, a city, a state or a country, but I donate. That's what you do as a business person.”

All eyes were on Johnson's visit and Molinaro as they focus on energizing voters in Binghamton, which has the majority of the consequential congressional district's electorate.

Molinaro is urging state lawmakers next week to approve new congressional lines adopted by the state’s bipartisan redistricting commission earlier this month, arguing taxpayers are tired of the legal battle as Democrats and Republicans fight for House control.

“It meets the court order,” Molinaro said. “We ought to get this done. The state Legislature should move on. We've got to get back in the business of making sure voters get to select their members of Congress and certainly, certainly, state legislators and congress members shouldn't be selecting their voters."

The Legislature should move as quickly as possible in approving the lines so New Yorkers can get reacquainted with their new districts, the congressman said.

“It's about damn time they get it done,” he added.

Johnson has not publicly addressed New York's maps and how the changed lines will impact the election.

Meanwhile, most Americans remain concerned about addressing border security and stemming the flow of migrants to New York.

Democrats have blamed Republicans for the collapse of bipartisan legislation to improve border security — a position Congressman-elect Tom Suozzi used to help him win ousted congressman George Santos' seat in a special election earlier this month.

Molinaro is confident in reaching a bipartisan solution, but said President Joe Biden did not previously convene all parties for a fair compromise.

“It is cynical and wrong to kick the can down the road because it might help one party politically in November, as it is just as cynical and wrong to close their eyes and accept a bill that doesn't solve the problem,” Molinaro said.

Former President Donald Trump was largely missing from the speeches and conversation at today's convention. Republican leaders seldom mentioned him and did not discuss Trump's multitude of ongoing legal challenges and criminal accusations.

But all three Senate candidates are staunch Trump supporters, and noted their support for the former president to be at the top of the ticket for president in November.

Trump's first criminal trial involving hush money payments to influence the 2016 presidential election will begin March 25.

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