Patrick Kevin Ryan (born March 28, 1982)[1][2] is an American businessman and Democratic politician serving as the U.S. representative for New York’s 18th congressional district since 2023. He served as the representative for New York’s 19th congressional district from 2022 to 2023, after being elected in a special election. He previously served as the county executive of Ulster County, New York.[1][3][4]

Early life and career

Ryan was born and raised in Kingston, New York, the son of Patricia L. and Kevin M. Ryan.[5] He earned a Bachelor of Science in international politics from the United States Military Academy in 2004 and a Master of Arts in security studies from Georgetown University.[6] Two of his West Point classmates are fellow Congressmen John James and Wesley Hunt. His wife is Rebecca Ryan (née Grusky).[7] He was previously married and divorced.[7]

Ryan served in the United States Army as a military intelligence officer from 2004 to 2009, including two tours in Iraq.[8] From 2009 to 2011, he worked as the deputy director of Berico Technologies, as a subcontractor for Palantir Technologies in Afghanistan.[8] He co-founded Praescient Analytics, a software company, in 2011. From 2015 to 2017, he was a senior vice president of Dataminr, an artificial intelligence platform. In 2018 and 2019, Ryan was a senior adviser at New Politics.[9]

Ulster County executive (2019–2022)

In February 2019, Ulster County Executive Mike Hein resigned to take a position in New York Governor Andrew Cuomo‘s administration. On April 30, Ryan defeated Republican nominee Jack Hayes in the special election to succeed Hein;[10] he took office on June 7, 2019. He became the second executive of Ulster County since it adopted a county charter in 2008.[11] In November 2019, he defeated Hayes in a rematch to win a full four-year term as county executive.[12]

As county executive, Ryan piloted a universal basic income program, wherein 100 families in the county received $500 per month.[13][14] He also enacted several environmental protections in Ulster County, committing to fully transition the operations of the county government to renewable energy by 2030 and partnering with SUNY Ulster to promote green energy jobs.[13]

On January 14, 2020, Ryan endorsed Pete Buttigieg in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries. In a statement, Ryan cited Buttigieg’s military service, his “bold progressive vision”, and his “moral leadership” as his reasons for support.[15][16]

On September 9, 2022, Ryan stepped down as Ulster County Executive. The deputy county executive, Johanna Contreras, was sworn in as acting county executive that day.[17]

U.S. House of Representatives (2022–present)

Elections

2018

Ryan first ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2018. In the Democratic primary in New York’s 19th congressional district, he received 18% of the vote to Antonio Delgado‘s 22%. Delgado defeated incumbent Republican representative John Faso in the general election.[18]

2022 special

After Delgado resigned from Congress on May 25, 2022, to become lieutenant governor of New York, Ryan announced that he would run in the special election to succeed Delgado.[1] Ryan was chosen as the Democratic nominee on June 9 at a meeting of Democratic county party chairs.[19]

In the August 23 special election, Ryan faced Republican nominee and Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro. Ryan was seen as the underdog as every poll had him trailing Molinaro and many believed that President Joe Biden‘s unpopularity would hinder Democrats in the swing district. Ryan narrowly defeated Molinaro by 2,858 votes, 51.1%–48.8%,[20] which was considered an upset. He outperformed Biden’s 2020 margin in the district by 0.8%. In explaining his victory, political observers noted that Ryan campaigned strongly in favor of protecting abortion rights in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade.[21] His victory was attributed to college-educated voters’, particularly women’s, support for abortion rights.[4][22]

Molinaro and Ryan both ran for Congress again in the general elections in November 2022 for the newly redrawn 19th and 18th districts, respectively. Each won in his respective district.[23]

2022

In November 2022, Ryan contested the state’s 18th district, which was changed from its previous configuration after redistricting.[1][4] On the same day as his special election victory in the 19th district, Ryan won the Democratic nomination for the regular election in the 18th district.[4] He defeated Republican nominee Colin Schmitt[24] in the general election.[25]

Tenure

Ryan being given an aerial tour of West Point, New York after the July 2023 Northeastern United States floods

On February 1, 2023, Ryan was among twelve Democrats to vote for a resolution to end COVID-19 national emergency.[26][27]

Ryan voted with President Joe Biden‘s stated position 100% of the time in the 117th Congress, according to a FiveThirtyEight analysis.[28]

Committee assignments

Caucus memberships

Personal life

Ryan with his wife and two children

Ryan was born and raised in Kingston, New York, where he lives with his wife and two children. His grandfather previously served on the Kingston City Council.[31]

Electoral history

New York’s 19th congressional district Democratic primary, 2018[18]
PartyCandidateVotes%
DemocraticAntonio Delgado 8,576 22.10%
DemocraticPat Ryan6,94117.89%
DemocraticGareth Rhodes6,89017.75%
DemocraticBrian Flynn5,24513.52%
DemocraticJeff Beals4,99112.86%
DemocraticDave Clegg4,25710.97%
DemocraticErin Collier1,9084.92%
Total votes38,808 100.00%
Ulster County executive special election, April 2019[32]
PartyCandidateVotes%
DemocraticPat Ryan11,81467.73%
IndependencePat Ryan1,0065.77%
Total Pat Ryan 12,820 73.50%
RepublicanJack Hayes3,36619.30%
ConservativeJack Hayes1,1946.85%
TotalJack Hayes4,56026.14%
Write-in630.36%
Total votes17,443 100.00%
Democratic hold
Ulster County executive election, November 2019[33]
PartyCandidateVotes%
DemocraticPat Ryan27,01752.58%
Working FamiliesPat Ryan3,4016.62%
IndependencePat Ryan1,9603.81%
Total Pat Ryan 32,378 63.01%
RepublicanJack Hayes15,70030.55%
ConservativeJack Hayes3,2626.35%
TotalJack Hayes18,96236.90%
Write-in440.09%
Total votes53,630 100.00%
Democratic hold
2022 New York’s 19th congressional district special election[34][35]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
DemocraticPat Ryan58,63645.39%–2.61
Working FamiliesPat Ryan7,4525.77%–0.78
TotalPat Ryan 66,088 51.15% –3.64
RepublicanMarc Molinaro52,51440.65%–2.55
ConservativeMarc Molinaro10,4968.12%N/A
TotalMarc Molinaro63,01048.77%+5.57
Write-in960.07%N/A
Total votes129,194 100.00%
Turnout129,32827.16%
Registered electors476,134
Democratic hold
New York’s 18th congressional district Democratic primary, 2022
PartyCandidateVotes%
DemocraticPat Ryan 29,400 83.8%
DemocraticAisha Mills4,60313.1%
DemocraticMoses Mugulusi9662.8%
Total votes34,969 100%
New York’s 18th congressional district, 2022[36]
PartyCandidateVotes%
DemocraticPat Ryan123,16846.15%
Working FamiliesPat Ryan12,0774.52%
TotalPat Ryan (incumbent)135,24550.67%
RepublicanColin Schmitt116,97243.83%
ConservativeColin Schmitt14,6815.50%
TotalColin Schmitt131,65349.33%
Total votes266,898 100%

References

  1. ^ a b c d “Pat Ryan to run in special 19th Congressional election before pursuing 18th seat”. Poughkeepsie Journal. May 17, 2022. Retrieved August 23, 2022.
  2. ^ “Patrick Ryan (1982-present)”. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  3. ^ “Democrat Pat Ryan wins special election for U.S. House in New York”. Reuters. August 23, 2022. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d Ashford, Grace (August 24, 2022). “Democrat Pat Ryan wins in House race that turned on abortion”. The New York Times. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  5. ^ “Rebecca Grusky and Patrick Ryan”. The New York Times. July 19, 2015.
  6. ^ “Pat Ryan”. New Politics. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  7. ^ a b “Rebecca Grusky and Patrick Ryan”. The New York Times. July 19, 2015. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  8. ^ a b Pierre Bienaimé (November 12, 2014). “This West Point-Trained Intelligence Officer Went Through Two Conflict Zones To Reach The Startup Scene”. Business Insider.
  9. ^ “Pat Ryan”. New Politics. Retrieved June 18, 2023.
  10. ^ Wilson, Geoffrey (April 30, 2019). “Democrat Pat Ryan looks to ‘hit ground running’ as Ulster County executive”. Poughkeepsie Journal. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  11. ^ Smith, Jesse J. (June 13, 2019). “Pat Ryan takes charge in Ulster County”. Hudson Valley 1. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  12. ^ Smith, Jesse J. (November 11, 2019). “In Ulster, Dems Pat Ryan and March Gallagher win but DA’s race very close”. Hudson Valley One. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  13. ^ a b Dunne, Allison (February 18, 2021). “Ulster County exec details universal basic income program and more”. WAMC. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  14. ^ Doxsey, Patricia R. (June 16, 2022). “Ulster County extends universal basic income experiment”. The Daily Star. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  15. ^ Reisman, Nick (January 14, 2020). “Ulster County Executive Endorses Pete Buttigieg For President”. Spectrum News. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  16. ^ ‘County Exec Pat’ likes ‘Mayor Pete’. Hudson Valley One. January 14, 2020.
  17. ^ “Congressman-elect Pat Ryan resigns as Ulster County executive; Contreras sworn in”. Daily Freeman. September 9, 2022. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  18. ^ a b “Certified results for the June 26, 2018 federal primary” (PDF). New York State Board of Elections. June 26, 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 1, 2022. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  19. ^ “Dems choose Ryan as candidate for Congress”. The Daily Star. June 13, 2022. Archived from the original on June 18, 2022. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  20. ^ “New York 19th Congressional District Special Election Results”. The New York Times. August 23, 2022. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  21. ^ Mahoney, Bill (July 24, 2022). “This election could answer the biggest midterm question: abortion or the economy?”. Politico. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  22. ^ Linskey, Annie; Scherer, Michael (August 27, 2022). “Democrats see the once unthinkable: A narrow path to keeping the House”. Washington Post. Retrieved September 3, 2022.
  23. ^ Ashford, Grace (November 9, 2022). “Molinaro Seizes an Open House Seat in New York From Democrats”. The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
  24. ^ “Colin Schmitt for Congress”. colinschmitt.com. February 2, 2021. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  25. ^ “Assembly Member Colin Schmitt concedes to Rep. Pat Ryan in race for NY-18”. News 12. November 8, 2022. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
  26. ^ “House passes resolution to end COVID-19 national emergency”. February 2023.
  27. ^ “On Passage – H.J.RES.7: Relating to a national emergency declared by”. August 12, 2015.
  28. ^ Bycoffe, Aaron; Wiederkehr, Anna (April 22, 2021). “Does Your Member Of Congress Vote With Or Against Biden?”. FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  29. ^ “Congressional Equality Members”. February 22, 2023.
  30. ^ “Committees and Caucuses”. Congressman Pat Ryan. January 3, 2021. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  31. ^ Wang, Jackie (August 24, 2022). “Democrat Pat Ryan wins closely watched New York special election”. Roll Call. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  32. ^ “Ulster County executive special election results, April 2019” (PDF). UlsterCountyNY.gov. April 30, 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 12, 2022. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  33. ^ “Ulster County general election results, November 2019”. UlsterCountyNY.gov. November 5, 2019. Archived from the original on August 14, 2020. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  34. ^ “New York 19th Congressional District Special Election Results”. The New York Times. August 23, 2022. Retrieved August 23, 2022.
  35. ^ “New York State Unofficial Election Night Results”. New York State Board of Elections. August 24, 2022. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  36. ^ “2022 General Election Results — Certified December 15, 2022”. New York State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on December 30, 2022. Retrieved December 30, 2022.

External links

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by

Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York’s 19th congressional district

2022–2023
Succeeded by

Preceded by

Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York’s 18th congressional district

2023-present
Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by

United States representatives by seniority
353rd
Succeeded by