The New York state troopers union is backing former Newsmax host Joseph Pinion in his race against US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who the union accused of being missing in action when it comes to sticking up for cops amid rising crime.
“It’s been a tough couple of years for law enforcement. We need backup and we’re glad to accept it from a candidate like Joe Pinion,” Troopers PBA President Thomas Mungeeer told The Post.
“Joe Pinion pledged his support and we haven’t heard anything from the Schumer campaign.”
The Republican Pinion has argued Schumer is out of touch with everyday New Yorkers throughout his run against Schumer but a Siena College poll released in early August has shown Pinion trailing the Senate majority leader by 21 points.
The Yonkers native Pinion is trying to change that dynamic in the final weeks of the race by contrasting the time Schumer has spent as an elected official with outstanding problems like inflation and struggling public schools.
“Chuck Schumer is a dinosaur and on his watch – like my friends here – the American dream is about to go extinct,” Pinion says in a new ad featuring him next to a pair of CGI velociraptors.
“I’m sorry, guys. It’s true. You’re in bed. For 42 years Chuck Schumer has been down in DC gaining power in our name and what do we have to show for us?” Pinion added.
Pinion said the ad will run online and on TV while declining to say where it would air and how much his campaign would spend.
A Schumer spokesman declined to comment.
Campaign filings show Pinion with just $25,149 in his campaign account compared to $37.9 million for the national powerbroker.
Schumer was first elected to the US Senate in 1999 after 18 years in the House of Representatives and six years in the state Assembly.
The last Republican US senator elected in the Empire State – where Democrats have a roughly two-to-one advantage with registered voters – was Al D’Amato, who left office in early 1999.
While Schumer has huge advantages against Pinion, the first-time candidate is trying to project confidence with a little over a week to go before absentee ballots get sent to voters before the final day of voting on Nov. 8.
“From Defund Police to Cashless Bail, New Yorkers watched helplessly as the needs of the criminals were elevated over the safety and security of law enforcement and our communities,” Pinion told The Post. Today marks a critical step in our quest to end this destructive slide.”
“We will build a Nationwide Law enforcement coalition to end the assault of police enforcement and restore Law and order by defeating Chuck Schumer,” he added.