Republican Pastor to Challenge Rangel

MYFOXNY.COM -- The Rev. Michel J. Faulkner is taking on a giant in Congress. The community activist and preacher who played one season with the New York Jets in the early 1980s plans to challenge none other than Rep. Charles Rangel.

But as a Republican.

Faulkner knows running as a Republican in Harlem's 15th congressional district makes you very much the underdog, but no matter -- in 1980 he made the New York Jets by showing up for a tryout.

"I was the smallest, the shortest, the slowest, the weakest," Faulkner said. "So I understand what it means to be a long shot."

This time he's taking on Rangel, who has been under a cloud of ethics questions since 2008. Faulkner said the race is not about the long-time congressman.

"My issues are lower taxes, smaller government, less government intervention, empowering people to be the best that they can be and to reach for the stars," Faulkner said.

Will Harlem vote for a Republican? It is a tough sell.

There are Democrats challenging Rangel in the primary, including Assemblyman Adam Clayton Powell IV and former Rangel staffer Vince Morgan.

Politics expert and columnist Steve Kornacki of the New York Observer said that Rangel is vulnerable, but is still a formidable force.

But Faulkner, as the former football player, is in fighting mode. He recently dropped 60 pounds and ran a marathon. He said a lot of people are ready for a change.