The Daily Catch

At the Doors with Patrick Sheehan: The Former Democrat Hopes to Score an Upset as He Crusades Against Democratic Socialism



Patrick Sheehan, former Democrat, spent Halloween knocking on doors as he makes a final appeal to voters skeptical of Democratic Socialism (photo by Victor Feldman).

Editor’s Note: In the days leading up to Election Day, The Daily Catch asked each of the candidates for State Assembly and State Senate if reporter Victor Feldman could accompany them as they canvass door-to-door making their final pitch to voters. On Oct. 21, we reported on Sarahana Shrestha’s campaign. Patrick Sheehan, the Republican candidate for Assembly in the 103rd district, was the second to say yes to our request. Here is our report on his door-knocking efforts.

Early voting continues through Sunday, Nov. 6. Election Day is Nov. 8. 


Traveling door-to-door to speak with voters on Halloween, Patrick Sheehan, the former Democrat-turned-Republican candidate for State Assembly in the new 103rd District, warned residents about something he said is scarier than any costume: Democratic Socialism. 

“I’m running because my opponent is a Democrat Socialist, she’s hard-left,” said Sheehan as he stood on one voter’s doorstep in Lake Katrine Monday. “I’m not a socialist,” he declared, “and I don’t want to be represented by one.” 

The Republican voter, who called himself Dave, replied, “Good, me neither, I actually voted for you today. I even know some Democrats around here who support you.” 

“Good, I can’t do it without them,” said Sheehan. 

In the final days of a campaign that many local experts have written off as in the bag for the upstart Sarahana Shrestha, Sheehan contends his underdog candidacy could be poised to notch an upset victory. “I’m cautiously optimistic,” he said. 

Shrestha, a climate activist and member of Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), herself scored a stunning victory to topple 13-term incumbent Assemblyman Kevin Cahill in June. Her surprise win alarmed Sheehan, who long admired Cahill and was a registered Democrat until 2018. 

Sheehan switched from the Democrat to the Republican party in 2018 and says he’s running in the mold of a man he respected, Kevin Cahill, who was defeated in his bid for reelection in the June Democratic primary (photo by Victor Feldman).

Shrestha, 41, and her army of nearly 200 volunteers have built a well-oiled campaign, knocking on doors, holding rallies, and making phone calls across the district since 2021 (read our coverage). 

By contrast, Sheehan, 51, is running a more unconventional, and less organized, campaign operation. He jumped into the race in April and only recently launched a campaign website. “I’ve done basically everything on my own,” he said. Sheehan has assembled a small but loyal group of 15 to 20 volunteers who knock on doors across the district to help spread the word of his candidacy. 

While Sheehan has paid three Republican consultants on and off for their advice, the campaign has no full-time paid staff. Where other campaigns obsess over the precise number of voters they reach, Sheehan said he’s “rather laissez faire” about keeping track of the number of voters he contacts each day. He could not provide details on how many voters the campaign has spoken to. He has, however, raised over $50,000, and plans to spend the $32,000 the campaign has in cash on hand sending out a last-minute barrage of more than 40,000 campaign mailers across the district. Shrestha’s campaign, which has not prioritized fundraising, had raised roughly $38,000 as of the end of October (Read our profile on Sheehan here).

“Democrats for Sheehan” signs are not hard to find, in Kingston and along River Road in Rhinebeck and Red Hook (photo by Victor Feldman).

“This is a David and Goliath race,” Sheehan acknowledged. “I know the numbers don’t favor me.” Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by a margin of over 2 to 1 in the district, and there are over 12,000 more registered Independents than Republicans, according to the most recent data from the State Board of Elections. 

The Challenging Odds

To win, Sheehan cannot rely on rank-and-file Republicans alone. He’ll have to peel away some registered Democrats and win a big chunk of voters not affiliated with either party, experts say. But Shrestha’s progressive policy goals, including her support for Medicare for All, the Green New Deal, and criminal justice reform, Sheehan argued, make her vulnerable. A significant portion of Independents and even some Democrats, he said, will be put off by Shrestha’s progressive stances, especially when he reminds them Shrestha is a member of the Mid-Hudson Valley chapter of DSA.

Sheehan’s 1973 Buick station wagon, nearly 50 years old, is a perennial topic of conversation with the voters he meets on the trail (photo by Victor Feldman).

“I’m not campaigning against a person, I’m campaigning against a movement: the Democratic Socialists,” he explained. 

In general, socialists believe the government should provide a range of basic services to the public, such as health care and education, for free or at a significant discount. While they strongly embrace democracy, Democratic Socialists believe workers should have much more control over the economy and business operations than wealthy business owners, according to Business Insider magazine.

Sheehan is making a concerted effort to reach out to registered Democrats. A volunteer for the Sheehan campaign even donated 75 blue yard signs reading “Democrats for Sheehan,” which have begun springing up around Kingston and, to a lesser extent, along River Road in Rhinebeck and Red Hook. Part of coaxing Democrats to his side involves tying his own candidacy to Cahill (a Democrat). Even the flyers Sheehan passes out to voters when he goes door-to-door bear the same red and blue colors and type font of past Cahill campaign literature. 

“I understand that strategy, but this does not appear to be a very strong candidacy,” SUNY-New Paltz Associate Political Science Professor Scott Minkoff told The Daily Catch. “I don’t think he is wrong that some people will be turned off by Sarahana because she is so progressive, and maybe he can get a portion of those voters.” But Minkoff observed that Sheehan’s late push to get out the vote was probably too little, too late. “I don’t think he can overcome the ground game that Sarahana has, ” Minkoff said. The professor wonders, too, if the state Republican Party was caught off-guard by Shrestha’s win over Cahill and therefore failed to recruit a pool of candidates to run in a Republican primary. 

Sheehan has out-fundraised his opponent, Sarahana Shrestha, though his ground game is not as strong (photo by Victor Feldman).

Sheehan’s approach appears to be gaining traction with some voters and turning off others. In Red Hook, Alan Seitz, a retiree and Independent, said he’s considering a vote for Sheehan. “He seems reasonable, I saw that debate he had with Sarahana and thought he looked very professional,” Seitz said.

On Oct. 20, Sheehan and Shrestha participated in a tense, hour-long online debate hosted by The Daily Freeman (read our coverage). Seitz said he voted for Cahill in previous general elections and was shocked when Shrestha won her primary in June. Now, he said, he’s worried about a looming economic recession and the state of democracy. “I think what some of the Republicans are doing at a national level is awful, not accepting the results of the 2020 election and whatnot,” he said. “But for the State Assembly, I think it’s about focusing on local issues, and Sheehan just seems very sensible.” 

Others said Sheehan’s crusade against Democratic Socialism has left a bad taste in their mouth. “It’s 2022, and Republicans have been crying about socialism forever, enough already. What are their ideas to help make our lives better?” said Adelaide Hollander, a second-home owner who moved to Rhinebeck full-time from New York City in 2021. Hollander describes herself as a moderate Democrat, the very type of voter Sheehan hopes to snag away from Shrestha. 

The newly drawn 103rd State Assembly district includes the northwestern swath of Dutchess County, including Red Hook and Rhinebeck (map by RedistrictingandYou.org).

Hollander said she has her complaints with the way Democratic lawmakers are running New York, but Sheehan, she said, is not the answer. “I think Shrestha has some interesting ideas, and I would love more young blood in our government,” she said. Hollander, too, watched the candidates debate. “I also don’t appreciate Sheehan suggesting Sarahana moved here just to run for office because she’s an immigrant,” Hollander said. “I found that comment he made rather offensive to be honest with you.” 

The newly drawn 103rd State Assembly district includes 135,000 residents spread across a portion of eastern Ulster County running south from Saugerties to New Paltz, and a sliver of Northern Dutchess County that includes Red Hook and Rhinebeck.

The Approach

A stack of flyers in hand, Sheehan canvasses in blue jeans, a beige vest covering his flannel t-shirt, and loafers. He said he spends 90 percent of his time in “campaign mode.” Sheehan was up at 6:30 a.m. Monday to speak with commuters and pass out flyers on the platform of the Rhinecliff Amtrak station. The day before, he joined Marc Molinaro, the Republican congressional hopeful for the 19th district,  at a meet-and-greet in the Boiceville Inn. 

When he pulls up to a small community development in Lake Katrine Monday afternoon, residents can spot the words “Sheehan for Assembly” painted on a large rectangular sign strapped to the roof of his car with bungee cords from a mile away. Wherever he goes, the car, a 1973 Buick station wagon, becomes a topic of conversation for the voters he meets. “They may not like my politics, but we can all appreciate a beautiful car,” he said, grinning.  

Sheehan pulls over to the side of the road in front of a small home with two yard signs, one for congressional candidate Pat Ryan, the other for State Senate candidate Michelle Hinchey, both Democrats. “As long as they don’t have a Sarahana sign, I’ll knock on the door,” he said.

Sheehan has two main pitches when he meets voters. At homes like this one, where he knows the voters inside are likely to be Democrats, he talks about leaving his ancestral political homeland as a way to show he understands Democrats. “Hi, I’m Pat Sheehan, I’m running for State Assembly, and I go to a lot of Democrats’ doors because I was actually a Democrat until 2018,” he said to the woman, named Trice, who opened the door. 

Though he is not expected to win, Sheehan, at right, has found he enjoys talking to voters (photo by Victor Feldman).

“Oh, I’ve heard of you!” she said. “You’re alright actually.” 

Sheehan smiled, “Do you know about my opponent?”

She replied, “Oh yes, I don’t like her, I try to be an Independent, but in New York, I’m forced to be a Democrat.”

As he walked back to the car, Sheehan turned and said, “That’s a Democrat who’s probably voting for me.” 

At homes where he suspects the voters are Republicans or Independents, Sheehan offers an alternative pitch and usually carries flyers for Molinaro in addition to his own.  

“I’m running for the Assembly, I’m also trying to help Marc Molinaro out,” Sheehan said to another voter, named Ethan, who had yard signs for Republican State Senate candidate Sue Serino planted in his front yard. “Oh alright, let me take a look,” Ethan said.

Sheehan continued, “I don’t know if you are aware, but Kevin Cahill was our assemblyman here. Kevin was a Democrat and he lost to a Democratic Socialist and I just felt that she was a little too extreme. We need a conservative to counter that message.”

Looking at the flier Sheehan handed to him, Ethan replied, “Yup, I remember Kevin, I’ll be voting for you then, and voting up and down the line for Republicans this year.” 

Sheehan replied, “I appreciate it. I want to keep doing what Kevin did… fix roads, fix bridges.”

Walking back to the car, Sheehan said he’s made peace with the campaign he’s running. Win or lose, he said, “I’m satisfied, either way. I feel good about what we’ve done.”

4 responses to “At the Doors with Patrick Sheehan: The Former Democrat Hopes to Score an Upset as He Crusades Against Democratic Socialism”

  1. Robert Stewart says:

    Wow. Sheehan said (quoted), “I am not a socialist, and I don’t want to be represented by one.” Does he know the definition
    of socialism? Does anyone know what socialism is? Sounds like he is confusing it with communism. Sorta like what the GOP is striving for. Dark money slowly consuming our Democracy. The Supreme Court is captured. What next? The Senate, the House, the Legislation? Vote.

  2. Collin Lovas says:

    It would be amusing, if it wasn’t so dire, to watch folks consistently vote against their own best interests. Once upon a time, Social Security was considered a third rail of American politics. Apparently, that is no longer the case.

    Republicans have openly stated that they plan to kill off Social Security and Medicare — both are Democratic Socialist programs, just like fire, police, education, etc.

    Republicans have been trying to kill off Social Security and Medicare for decades. George W. Bush, a Republican, managed to privatize part of Medicare — known today as Medicare Advantage. Medicare Advantage is run by private insurance companies. They realize huge profits as they deny claims and have networks that lack much substance. They lure senior citizens in by offering lackluster dental, vision, etc. However, as seniors grow older and need more medical care, they can find it difficult to find Medicare Advantage providers and their claims can be denied. See October 8, 2022 NYT article – How Insurers Exploited Medicare Advantage for Billions. Richard Nixon, a Republican, opened the floodgates to poor healthcare via the HMO Act of 1973. Additionally, Republicans are against regulating prescription drug costs because lower drug costs would upset their powerful corporate donors.

    It’s clear that Republicans are extremely adept at effective messaging. They also have the benefit of dark money, compliments of Citizens United. However, for their own good, Americans need to wake up and understand the facts.

  3. Felice Gelman says:

    It seems a bit pathetic that the one word “socialist” could be the basis for a campaign of opposition, but this seems to be the plan for the party (Republican) that no longer even has a national platform.

  4. Stephen Callahan says:

    The word Socialism has been politically spun recently into something completely negative. Many people who share that belief should take a good look around seeing the current government-run Socialist programs that they themselves utilize. Here is a list of some of the “Socialist” programs in the U.S.:
    The Department of Agriculture, Amber Alerts, Amtrak, public beaches, public busing services, business subsidies, the Census Bureau, the CIA, federal student loans, the court system, dams, public defenders, disability insurance, the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, farm subsidies, the FBI, the FCC, the FDA, FEMA, fire departments, food stamps, garbage collection, health care, public housing, the IRS, public landfills, public libraries, Medicare, Medicaid, the military, state and national monuments, public museums, NASA, the National Weather Service, NPR, public parks, PBS, the Peace Corps, police departments, prisons and jails, public schools, Secret Service, sewer systems, snow removal systems, Social Security, public street lighting, the Department of Transportation, USPS, vaccines, veteran health care, welfare, the White House, the WIC program and state zoos.
    Social democracy, the most common form of modern socialism, focuses on achieving social reforms and redistribution of wealth through democratic processes, and can co-exist alongside a free-market capitalist economy.

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