Jacobs, Reed take differing approaches to GOP convention – and Trump

In other words, Western New York's two Republican members of Congress will be playing to type.

Jacobs, who just joined the House last month, won his seat in the 27th Congressional District by touting his support for Trump. But Reed, over nearly 10 years in Congress, has built a complex political identity that's all his own – part Trump supporter, part middle-of-the-road "problem solver."

Both face Democratic challengers this fall who lambaste Trump every chance they get, but you won't hear vociferous criticism of Trump out of either Jacobs or Reed. Both are Trump supporters, although one goes about it much differently than the other.

Whereas Jacobs represents the most conservative district in the state and so naturally is likely to stress his Trump ties, "Tom Reed has the ability to support Trump in a way that has not always been that highly visible," said Timothy Kneeland, a professor of political science and history at Nazareth College in Rochester. Kneeland has been following both congressional re-election races.

Here's a closer look at the two Republican lawmakers, their thoughts on the convention and the races they face in November:

The acolyte

Jacobs won his seat in Congress in a June 23 special election largely by touting his support for Trump, so it's no surprise that he'll be in the crowd at the White House Thursday night.

"I was honored to be invited, and my wife and I are both going," he said.

It's no surprise, either, that by word and deed, Jacobs has been spending his first few weeks in Congress echoing his support for Trump.

Asked on Wednesday about Trump's response to the Covid-19 pandemic, Jacobs said the president has done "a good job" even though Trump is widely criticized for downplaying the coronavirus outbreak early on and never introducing a comprehensive federal response to it.

Asked about Trump's penchant for using Twitter to attack and ridicule his opponents, Jacobs said: "We all have different ways of interacting with people. I'm really focused on the substantive policies that the president has done in the last three and a half years which I think are really good for this country and heading us in the right direction, like the dramatic tax reform, the regulatory reform, renegotiating trade deals. I think those are important things and those are the things that are going to help us bounce back from this Covid crisis."

Jacobs is doing more than singing Trump's praises. While he bucked the president by supporting a Democratic bill to bolster U.S. Postal Service funding last Saturday – a move he subverted by accidentally voting against the measure – Jacobs otherwise couldn't recall voting against Trump's wishes since joining the House on July 21.

Similarly, Jacobs offered no criticism of Trump's decision to use the White House for parts of this week's Republican convention and to involve federal staffers in the political spectacle, even though the Hatch Act bars federal officials other than the president and vice president from engaging in blatant campaigning.

Jacobs is sticking by Trump even though the longtime Buffalo politician won by an unexpectedly narrow margin of 5.3 points over Democrat Nate McMurray. McMurray sees the closeness of the race as a sign voters in New York's 27th District are coming to the conclusion that Trump is a failure.

“How can you give this guy a second chance?” McMurray asked. “Nothing is going right. Nothing.”

McMurray noted that nearly 180,000 Americans have died of Covid-19, that millions lost their jobs, and that Trump has stoked racial tensions. In light of all that, McMurray said he has no problem bashing the president.

"We criticize this president because the country is in jeopardy,” he said. “I think I have a duty to do so. ... If I lose because of what I believe, then so be it.”

But given that Trump won by 24 points in New York's 27th Congressional District in 2016, McMurray is probably doing himself no favors with his strident anti-Trump tone, Kneeland said.

"Chris Jacobs is new, but he knows that district," Kneeland said. "That district is Trump country. And right now, Jacobs' best hope for the fall election is to double down on Donald Trump because that really was the kind of thing that got him elected."

The problem solver

Reed is also a strong Trump supporter, but you wouldn't necessarily know it if you just paid attention to what he's been up to lately.

The Southern Tier congressman has spent much of the past few months trying to broker a compromise that would bring federal aid directly to localities and states that saw their revenues plummet amid the pandemic – a move the Trump administration has opposed. He's also pushing an increased federal commitment to child care, and even did a video for the convention on that issue.

It's all part of the distinct brand Reed has honed in his years in the House, where he co-chairs the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus while also focusing heavily on constituent services and holding town halls across his district. His decision not to go to Washington for Trump's speech Thursday, then, is entirely characteristic.

"During the crisis. It's important to me to be close to the people we represent," Reed said. 

But Reed remains largely supportive of Trump.

Asked about Trump's response to the coronavirus, Reed stressed that it's an ongoing crisis, saying: "I would look at the total picture before you cast judgment."

Asked about the use of the White House for political events this week, Reed said he has concerns about that, but that he "would defer to whoever made that decision."

Reed also lauded Trump's performance boosting the economy before the pandemic. And when asked what he'd tell a voter concerned about Trump's tweets, Reed said: "I would say, 'I respect that. That's why it's a democracy, and you get to vote for whoever you want, and I would appreciate your support – and judge each candidate on his or her own merit.' "

Reed's Democratic opponent, Penn Yan cybersecurity expert Tracy Mitrano, has been hearing Reed say such things for years now and doesn't think much of them, or of him. She noted that Reed almost always votes Republican on the House floor.

“Tom Reed is one of two peas in a pod with Donald Trump," she said. "He has demonstrated it in so many votes, in how he conducts his campaign, and certainly through his position as honorary chairman of the Trump campaign in New York."

Mitrano, like McMurray, hasn't been shy about her thoughts on Trump.

“He’s beneath the dignity of the office,” she said.

But Mitrano faces a challenge in tying Reed to Trump, said Jim Twombly, a political science professor at Elmira College. Reed has built a down-home persona in the district that's so familiar that he's dropped his last name from his campaign signs, which now simply say: "Tom for Congress."

"He really tries to personalize his connection to the people in the district, and I mean even here, you hear people talking about him by his first name," Twombly said. "People feel like they know him and can talk to him."