Sponsors of Ulster Chamber of Commerce breakfast gatherings usually hand out gifts at the monthly gathering. Coffee mugs, pens, hats, tee-shirts, shoehorns and the like. But it looked like U.S. Rep. Patrick Ryan had beaten them all to the punch at the (former) Holiday Inn/Best Western Hotel in Kingston on Tuesday.

Awaiting the 200-odd diners at their tables was a five-page flyer “Pat Ryan for Congress” which essentially proclaimed that, for all intents and purposes, his campaign against Republican challenger Jackie Auringer was all over but the shouting. Looks in this case were deceiving - Ryan's campaign reached out Wednesday to let us know that it wasn't the incumbent's team who handed out the flyers. It was, they say, Auringer herself, and her mother. According to Camp Ryan, they printed out a press release from Monday stating Ryan would be there on Wednesday. Auringer, characterizing the release as an "attack email," admitted to the act when she made her opening remarks minutes later.

Let's move on. Under the campaign document heading of “A Commanding Lead,” Ryan’s campaign team cited two independent polls that showed him ahead by 17 points, a week from election day. He won his last election by about that margin.

Driving home a message of foregone conclusion, Ryan came with a section titled “Major Fundraising Advantage” regarding respective fundraising. He did not exaggerate.

In the last quarter, Ryan raised almost $850,000, the flyer stated, and heads into election day with close to $2.7 million in cash on hand. By comparison, Auringer raised about $64,000, it said.

And Ryan is an incumbent with all the advantages it carries, like the 90 percent re-election rate congressmembers now enjoy. Why this is true when the overall rating of Congress falls well below the president’s defies logic.

Auringer is still an unknown quantity, other than she is not Ryan. Given Ryan’s several references to Auringer’s bolting from a Freeman Zoom event two weeks ago, there was conjecture over whether she’d even show up for this event

She did, but if audience response to candidate statements was any indicator, she should have had breakfast at the Stadium Diner. Given this rare face-to-face, she challenged Ryan on almost every topic, even if too much of her remarks bordered on Republican boilerplate.

As Auringer is now painfully aware, it takes more than a spirited offense to take down an established incumbent. Auringer, in attempting to hit every hot button, came across as under-prepared, rambling at points and repeating herself. At 29, she needs to develop thicker skin against the slings and arrows of competitive politics. For instance, she’s still expressing annoyance with the Freeman for misspelling her name. Just for laughs, I ought to start calling her “Oranger.”

Given the softball nature of chamber “debates,” some in the audience might have found Auringer’s attacks a bit on the personal side. Like questioning the former Army captain’s service record. She didn’t go so far as to challenge his residency, which had failed to gain traction in previous statements, but she did mention that Ryan, like her, a Kingston native, had returned home after a decade-long absence only to run for Congress in 2018.

Ryan, sitting on a huge lead in every way that matters, “corrected” his opponent where necessary, but for the most part was respectful and polite. Why bother? Or as the last flyer bottom line declared, “On Nov. 3, Pat Ryan will be elected to serve his third term and his opponent will be sent packing back to Mar-a-Largo.” Not just yet, Patrick.

Rather than engaging with the only challenge he will face this election, Ryan focused on his archenemies in the Trump administration.

A favorite target has been the feckless Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, one of Trump’s favorites. “We’ll get Pete out of there on Day 1,” he declared.

He said nothing about impeaching the president, which for many Democrats would be Job One, come January.

Both candidates got off some memorable one-liners.

At one point, Ryan declared that “We don’t need more trillionaires, we need more millionaires, frankly.” I suspect the congressman, who has made some sound business decisions and stock trades over the years, has been there for a while.

And, “ICE’s budget is bigger than the Marine Corps.” Who knew?

After lambasting her opponent for the better part of half an hour, Auringer left on a conciliatory note:

“I appreciate what Pat does up here,” she said. “You have to be a little bit crazy to run for Congress,” adding that she intends to run again in 2028.

Bracing Oberacker

Political campaigns are often about comparisons. U.S. Rep. Josh Riley, D-Ithaca, represents a chunk of Ulster County in Congress. He has turned down two Chamber invitations to face his opponent. Longtime state legislator Peter Oberacker, R-Schoharie, came anyway, dragging a badly injured leg to the podium.

“It took me longer to get up here than I planned to speak,” he said for openers.

The outgoing state senator, sporting a hip-to-ankle brace, limped from the audience with cane in hand.

“I was at a volleyball match when someone asked me to play,” he told me afterward. “I said I was too old for that, then somebody challenged me to give a try. What could I say? I like a challenge.” He has one now.

Oberacker, who has never lost a race for public office, will have his hands full, running on one leg against the well-funded incumbent. He might have been a contender with two.

Next: An election year review.