By Gabriela Resto-Montero
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
KIPS BAY — Congressional candidate Ryan Brumberg quit his job at McKinsey & Company last week to run for office, but his biggest risk may be running as a Republican on the East Side.
He faces an uphill battle in challenging incumbent Rep. Carolyn Maloney in the 14th District where, in Manhattan, Democrats outnumber Republicans more than 3-1. But Brumberg's in it to win it.
"I wouldn't be running unless I thought we had a good shot at winning," Brumberg, who is in his late 20s, said at the Community Board 6 meeting Wednesday.
He introduced himself to the voters at the meeting unofficially, out of respect for board rules that prevent political campaigning.
Brumberg, a graduate of Columbia University and Stanford Law School, said his political philosophy is "fiscally conservative" but "socially liberal," according to his Web site.
His campaign has had a soft launch and he will hold more events soon, Brumberg said.
After the elected officials' reports at the board meeting, he took the stage to discuss health care reform.
"I think costs are going to go up and it's not going to work," he said of the health care reform legislation backed by Maloney that was recently signed into law.
President Barack Obama endorsed Maloney, a congresswoman since 1992, on Tuesday, a day after the AFL-CIO lent their support to her re-election.
Maloney has a war chest of $2 million for the primary and a host of powerful Democratic backers.
Her Democratic primary challenger Reshma Saujani announced that her campaign had raised more money than Maloney in the past two quarters, and has $693,190 in the bank.
While Maloney has many established Democratic backers, Saujani has gained a unique following from social media and tech entrepreneurs, like the founders of Facebook and Twitter.
There are more than 190,000 registered Manhattan Democrats compared to more than 60,000 Republicans, New York State 2008 voter registration data show.
