Sean Patrick Maloney Concedes to Mike Lawler in Loss for Democrats - The New York Times

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Mr. Maloney, who leads the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, was seeking to correspond a antithetic territory aft New York’s messy redistricting process.

Representative Sean Patrick Maloney, sporting an “I Voted” sticker, addresses reporters aft  helium  voted connected  Election Day successful  Cold Spring, N.Y,
Representative Sean Patrick Maloney led the Democratic Party’s run cognition successful the House.Credit...Gregg Vigliotti for The New York Times

Jesse McKinleyNicholas Fandos

  • Nov. 9, 2022Updated 11:35 a.m. ET

Representative Sean Patrick Maloney, the seat of the almighty Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, conceded decision connected Wednesday successful his bid for a House spot successful New York City’s bluish suburbs to a Republican authorities assemblyman, Mike Lawler, a stinging and symbolic nonaccomplishment for Democrats.

The concession came adjacent though The Associated Press has not yet called the race. With much than 95 percent of the ballot counted, Mr. Lawler led Mr. Maloney by 1.2 percent points.

“I don’t similar to lose, but my hostile won this race. He won if just and square. That means something,” Mr. Maloney said successful an affectional connection delivered via Zoom from D.C.C.C. office successful Washington. “The close happening to bash is accidental the different feline won and privation him well.”

On a time erstwhile the Democratic Party seemed destined to suffer power of the House, but nevertheless outperformed astir expectations, Mr. Maloney's concession served arsenic a dubious distinction: He becomes the archetypal president of either party’s House run committee to suffer a contention for re-election since the aboriginal 1990s.

Even earlier his concession, Republicans were already celebrating Mr. Maloney’s defeat, including Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, the House number leader, who gleefully cited it aboriginal Wednesday arsenic portion of gains the enactment had made successful New York, a usually wide authorities wherever his enactment performed amazingly well.

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Much remains uncertain. For the 2nd Election Day successful a row, predetermination nighttime ended without a wide winner. Nate Cohn, The Times’s main governmental analyst, takes a look astatine the authorities of the races for the House and Senate, and erstwhile we mightiness cognize the outcome:

Mr. Maloney said helium could not “with 100 percent certainty” foretell who had won the majority, but helium said Democrats’ had “stood retired crushed crossed the country” adjacent if Republicans yet triumph a slim majority.

Mr. Lawler, a first-term assemblyman, had tally a vigorous and sometimes vicious campaign against Mr. Maloney, the seat of the almighty Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, characterizing him arsenic retired of interaction with section residents by mocking his planetary question and renting his Hudson Valley home.

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Mike Lawler, right, a first-term Republican authorities assemblyman, ran a vigorous and sometimes vicious run against Representative Sean Patrick Maloney.Credit...Jeenah Moon for The New York Times

Like galore Republicans successful New York and nationwide, Mr. Lawler besides kept a accordant absorption connected crime, arsenic good arsenic the system and inflation, issues of import successful the 17th Congressional District, wherever galore suburban communities are combating precocious spot taxes. He was besides helped by an infusion of immoderate $6 cardinal into the contention by the Congressional Leadership Fund, a ace PAC aligned with the Republican legislature leadership.

Mr. Maloney was archetypal elected to service the neighboring 18th Congressional District a decennary ago, but aft a authorities justice tossed retired erstwhile maps earlier this year — calling them partisan, and ordering them redrawn — Mr. Maloney opted to tally successful the 17th, further to the south, successful a somewhat much Democratic area. In doing so, helium efficaciously displaced another, less-senior Democratic lawmaker, Mondaire Jones, starring to immoderate disapproval from different members of his party.

Mr. Jones, who has mostly kept quiescent astir the contention for his aged district, issued a one-word connection connected Twitter aft Mr. Maloney conceded: “Yikes.”

Mr. Maloney survived a superior challenge, but had been scrambling to accommodate to the contours of a caller district. And arsenic the wide predetermination contention progressed this fall, Mr. Maloney’s fortunes seemed to falter, starring to the precise committee helium leads pouring hundreds of thousands of dollars into campaign ads successful the closing weeks.

It did not work, arsenic Mr. Lawler rode a question of discontent and accepted midterm spot by the enactment retired of the White House into a large win. The contention successful the 17th District was 1 of 3 successful the Hudson Valley portion that were considered competitive, contempt New York being a profoundly wide authorities wherever registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by much than 2 to one.

Republican legislature leaders successful New York, including Representative Elise Stefanik, the third-ranking Republican successful the House, person been pushing the authorities enactment to the right, embracing immoderate of the policies and rhetoric of erstwhile President Donald J. Trump.

Mr. Lawler ran a somewhat much mean run — distancing himself from the Jan. 6 Capitol riots, for instance, and rejecting mendacious conspiracy theories astir a Trump triumph successful 2020 — seemingly aiming to lure independents and blimpish Democrats. Both candidates besides sought to tribunal the Orthodox Jewish assemblage successful the recently redrawn district, including successful Rockland County, location to respective ample Hasidic communities.

Mr. Lawler is simply a longtime Republican governmental operative, who antecedently worked for Rob Astorino, the erstwhile region enforcement successful Westchester. He present runs his ain governmental consulting firm, which worked connected his legislature campaign. He has besides worked arsenic a lobbyist connected behalf of behalf of an involvement radical pushing a caller earthy state pipeline successful New York.

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