Jackie Auringer, a Republican seeking to take on Democratic Rep. Pat Ryan, has secured her place on the ballot with a court ruling that upheld the petition filed by a GOP candidate that she replaced.
Democrats had sought to disqualify Auringer over a disputed residency claim by the initial contender, Sharanjit Thind, a Long Island man who listed his friends’ house in Dutchess County as his own on his ballot petition. But in a 17-page ruling on Friday, May 1, an Albany County judge found no sign of “fraud or sham” in Thind’s claim to live in LaGrangeville that warranted dismissing his petition.
In dismissing the challenge, acting state Supreme Court Justice Kimberly O’Connor decided that Thind truly was living part-time in LaGrangeville and planned to move from Long Island to New York’s 18th Congressional District — and that he wasn’t trying to “confuse or mislead” voters and petition signers by listing his friends’ address.
The upshot is that Auringer — a Kingston resident whom Republicans substituted for Thind after he filed his petition and then promptly quit the race in April — will be on the ballot to challenge Ryan in November. Ryan, a former Ulster County executive, is seeking his third full House term representing all of Orange County and parts of Ulster and Dutchess.
“We’re pleased the court recognized what voters already know: this campaign belongs on the ballot,” Auringer said in a statement after the ruling. “This was never about technicalities; it was about whether the people of the Hudson Valley would be given a real choice in November.”
What to know about NY-18 House candidates
According to her campaign, Auringer is a Kingston native who works for her family’s construction business as a project manager and accountant. She filed federal paperwork to become a House candidate on April 10, shortly after Thind exited the race.
Ryan, who won re-election by a wide margin of 14 percentage points in 2024, had nearly $3 million in his campaign account as of March 31 and will be tough for Auringer to topple. He’s running in what is rated by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report as a “solid” seat for Democrats in this year’s midterm elections.
Thind’s petition wasn’t challenged because he lived outside the 18th District, which isn’t required for House candidates as long as they live in the same state. Democrats argued, rather, than he provided a false address — the same reason Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was barred from New York’s ballot when he ran for president in 2024.
In an interview with the USA TODAY Network last month, Thind said he had been staying occasionally in his friends’ basement bedroom in Dutchess County and used their address on his petition because he planned to move. He said he had a “verbal contract” with his friends to buy their previous house in Saugerties.
Chris McKenna covers government and politics for The Journal News and USA TODAY Network. Reach him at CMcKenna@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Rep. Pat Ryan will face GOP’s Jackie Auringer after petition is upheld
Reporting by Chris McKenna, New York State Team / Rockland/Westchester Journal News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
