After several tours in Kosovo and Iraq, Chris Gibson ran for New York鈥檚 20th Congressional district seat in the House of Representatives in 2010 against the incumbent Democrat Scott Murphy. Although the political newcomer started off the race behind in the polls, Mr. Gibson eventually went on to beat Murphy with . He later won reelection in 2012 and 2014, garnering attention for his unusual ability to garner support from Democratic voters.
鈥淸T]he race here in the Hudson Valley and the Catskills is emerging as something even rarer, and perhaps more intriguing, in an era of reflexive partisanship: a case study of how a Republican can cultivate, win over and retain an unusually high level of support from Democrats in a swing district, while adhering to Republican positions,鈥� . The piece noted the 鈥渕otley鈥� list of groups supporting him, from the National Rifle Association to the state teachers鈥� union.
Representative Gibson is a member of No Labels, a group of Republicans and Democrats aiming to challenge Washington鈥檚 growing partisanship. And Gibson has challenged partisanship in his own political views: he opposed sending American ground troops to fight the Islamic State, while supporting climate change research and fighting employer discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
As a supporter of term limits, Gibson announced his decision to this year.
