Mike Rakebrandt, 2nd Congressional District

MIKE RAKEBRANDT

REPUBLICAN

BACKGROUND: Rakebrandt, 48, is a Brooklyn native who lives in Holbrook. After serving in the U.S. Navy for 10 years, he joined the NYPD in 2007, becoming a member of the detective bureau in 2013. He retired from the department in July. He has never held elective office.

ISSUES: Rakebrandt has sought to make the certification of the 2020 presidential election an issue, criticizing incumbent Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport) for not backing former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the election. Rakebrandt says he supports elimination of all mail-in voting and backs requirements for submit identification at polling sites. He supports Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement and opposed President Joe Biden’s $1 trillion infrastructure plan. He opposes abortion rights, wants to build a wall along the U.S. southern border and opposes “all health mandates.” He says he favors giving parents school choice and a policy of “money follows the child,” which would entail public funds going more easily to private schools. He says schools should be required to teach “basic American civics.”

By Yancey Roy

yancey.roy@newsday.com@yanceyroy