Former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon is speaking on Staten Island on Monday evening, trying to rally Republican voters in the swing congressional district ahead of the midterm elections.

About 40 people are hearing from the former advisor to President Donald Trump at the screening of the documentary film, "Trump at War," at the Hilton Garden Inn in Bloomfield.

 

Bannon spoke mostly about the need for Republicans to keep control of Congress as a referendum on Trump's first two years in office, but he also stressed the importance of the congressional race on Staten Island and in a portion of southern Brooklyn, arguing he wanted to reinforce to Trump voters what the stakes were amid the challenge from a "very impressive" Democratic candidate.

The former Breitbart editor is a lightning rod because of his far-right views, but the event has been under the radar with little publicity or media attention. No protesters gathered outside the hotel.

It contrasts other recent scheduled appearances for Bannon. He was slated to appear at the New Yorker Magazine's annual festival that was held last month, but the publication reserved course and disinvited Bannon after a wave of pushback. More recently, Bannon had to cancel an appearance, scheduled for later this week in the Buffalo area, because people made threats against the venue.

The Monday event is part of a national tour Bannon has embarked on to invigorate the Republican base, particularly in swing districts that could decide which party will control Congress in 2019. Staten Island qualifies as one, as incumbent Rep. Dan Donovan is facing a spirited challenge from Democrat Max Rose.

Last year, Bannon appeared to endorse the campaign of Donovan's then-primary opponent, Michael Grimm. But Donovan easily defeated Grimm in the Republican primary in June anyway, after Trump endorsed the incumbent. It's unclear if there has been any coordination between Bannon and Donovan's camp; Donovan did not attend the Hilton speaking event.

Staten Island, along with a portion of southern Brooklyn, is part of New York's 11th congressional district and is considered Trump country — he won the borough with 56 percent of the vote in the 2016 presidential election. But it's not clear if Staten Island voters hold any ill will towards Bannon, who was quoted criticizing Trump and some of his family members in Michael Wolff's "Fire and Fury" book released in January.

Bannon is expected to head to Buffalo later this week to campaign for an early Trump ally, Republican Rep. Chris Collins, who was indicted on insider trading charges in August but remains on the ballot and continues to campaign.