Skip to content

N.Y. GOP Senate Candidate Links Mosque to Crime

Wendy Long is waging a longshot bid against Sen. Charles E. Schumer

New York Republican Senate candidate Wendy Long said her tweets were intended to show what liberal government did to a city. (Wendy Long for U.S. Senate)
New York Republican Senate candidate Wendy Long said her tweets were intended to show what liberal government did to a city. (Wendy Long for U.S. Senate)

New York Republican Senate candidate Wendy Long suggested the conversion of a church to a mosque in Western New York was linked to crime in the area.

“Neighborhood where the mosque displaced the church,” Long tweeted last Thursday with a picture of a boarded up home in Syracuse, New York. “Crime, prostitution, money laundering. Nice Dem control of cities.”

[Democrats Visit Mosque to Support Muslim Community]

Long, a longshot candidate against incumbent Democratic Sen. Charles E. Schumer, told Syracuse.com in a Monday interview that people were not happy with their neighborhood.

“I wanted to do some photographs and videos of people who were unhappy about it,” Long said. “I thought it was worth mentioning. As I traveled around that neighborhood, it was a sign of what liberal government does to a big city.”

During her visit to Syracuse, she also tweeted a picture of two women wearing veils and walking down the street and said, “Catholic Charities takes federal tax dollars to resettle the refugees we can’t screen. Leaves the Catholics to ISIS.”

Long, a New York City lawyer, previously clerked for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and also worked for the conservative Judicial Confirmation Network (now known as the Judicial Crisis Network). She ran an unsuccessful campaign against New York’s junior senator, Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand, in 2012, losing by 46 points. 

The race is rated Safe Democrat by The Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report/Roll Call.

Contact Bowman at bridgetbowman@rollcall.com and follow her on Twitter at @bridgetbhc.

Recent Stories

CBO finds health agency cuts would result in fewer new drugs

Judge tosses lawsuit regarding FBI agents’ identity

Summer cram session — Congressional Hits and Misses

Former Rep. William Lacy Clay Sr. dies at age 94

Photos of the week | July 11-17, 2025

House sends $9 billion rescissions package to president’s desk