Republican congressional candidate Kellen Curry said his campaign will be focused on re-instilling the trust 3rd District residents should have in their representatives after controversial U.S. Rep. George Santos was elected to the spot in November.
In an interview with Blank Slate Media. Curry, who announced his candidacy to run for the seat held by the fabulist Santos last week, said his campaign’s platform will be expanded going forward, but that it is imperative for 3rd District residents to have an elected official in Washington who can effectively serve them. Curry said Santos, who faces a number of investigations after lying repeatedly about his personal, professional and financial background, is the “most ineffective member of Congress.”
“What we’re really focusing on right now is making sure that we draw attention to the current state of leadership,” Curry said Thursday. “Quite frankly, nothing happens if we don’t have leadership that we can believe in.”
Curry, a Queens resident who lives just outside the 3rd District, is an Afghanistan war veteran and former vice president at J.P. Morgan. Curry completed two tours of duty in Afghanistan and currently serves in the Air Force Reserves, according to his campaign website.
After graduating from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 2009, Curry was on active duty for eight years, delivering cybersecurity technology to the military. He has an MBA from the George Washington University School of Business and a Master’s of Science in Sports Business. He most recently served as a vice president for J.P. Morgan’s Corporate and Investment Banking Division from 2019-2023.
His military experience, he said, would serve the district well, since he is familiar with the operational aspects of day-to-day government. Dealing with diverse groups such as agencies, local businesses and veterans affairs homes, he said, also provided him with experience to engage constituents and discuss the pressing issues facing the 3rd District.
“Having worked in that environment for eight years, navigating a very Byzantine kind of process and federal procurement, you begin to understand how the federal government works and how the agencies work and interact,” Curry said.
Heightening accountability in Washington through ethics reforms, making Long Island more affordable. But he mentioned that the 3rd District has other specific issues that need to be addressed, including environmental preservation.
Curry said he sees himself as a “bridge-builder,” not being afraid to work across the aisle and accomplish the necessary work to best serve Long Island. He said he does not view himself as someone who is on “the far-far right” and can’t conduct bipartisan work.
“I think this is an opportunity for the party to really reach out and to bring everybody that we can in our communities, no matter what they look like, no matter where they’re from, to bring them into the Republican Party in a much more inclusive way than we’ve done in the past,” Curry said.
Santos, in a letter to the Federal Election Commission last month, said he will be running for re-election in 2024, despite GOP groups including the Nassau County Republican Committee saying they will not back him going forward.
Contributions have been made to Devolder-Santos for Congress, which has been designated as the embattled congressman’s campaign finance committee. Santos has not made a formal announcement that he will run for re-election.
