Republican Beats Powerful House Democrat in Stinging Loss for Democrats

By Abby Liebing November 9, 2022 at 11:21am

As the votes from the midterm election continue to be counted, the race for New York’s 17th district House seat has been particularly close, but has been called in favor of Republican Mike Lawler.

“NEWS: Sean Patrick Maloney, the chairman of the DCCC, just called Republican Mike Lawler to concede his Lower Hudson Valley race. This is a stinging loss for Democrats, and Maloney in particular, on a night when the party otherwise faired better than expected,” Nicholas Fandos, a political correspondent for the New York Times Metro section, tweeted.

NEWS: Sean Patrick Maloney, the chairman of the DCCC, just called Republican Mike Lawler to concede his Lower Hudson Valley race.

This is a stinging loss for Democrats, and Maloney in particular, on a night when the party otherwise faired better than expected.

— Nicholas Fandos (@npfandos) November 9, 2022

According to 270towin, with about 93 percent of the vote in, Lawler had 50.54 percent of the vote while Democrat Sean Patrick Maloney, chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, had 49.46 percent.

Though the Associated Press had not yet called the race, the New York Times also reported Maloney’s concession and Lawler’s victory.

One of Lawler’s campaign spokesmen also confirmed the news on Twitter.

“NY-17 Update: Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney just called to graciously concede to @lawler4ny. News conference in Rockland at 2 pm,” Wm. F. B. O’Reilly tweeted.

NY-17 Update: Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney just called to graciously concede to @lawler4ny News conference in Rockland at 2 pm.

— Wm. F. B. O’Reilly (@wfbor) November 9, 2022

It is a particularly notable loss for Democrats, since the DCCC is quite powerful in New York and there has not been a loss like this in decades, the Times noted.

“The concession was a telling and significant outcome for a lawmaker who serves as the leader of the Democratic Party’s campaign operation in the House. And it was the first time since the early 1990s that the chairman of either party’s House campaign committee lost a race for re-election,” the Times reported.

Lawler, who was a first-term assemblyman, was known for his aggressive campaign against Maloney, the Times noted.

Maloney had a tough fight against Lawler as the assemblyman “rode a wave of discontent and traditional midterm strength by the party out of the White House into a major win,” the Times added.

Meanwhile, the results of the 25 other New York representative seats that were up for grabs are trickling in, or at least getting closer to being called, according to 270towin updates.

Republicans won in districts one, two, 11, 21, 23, and 24, so far, according to 270towin.

Thus far, Democrats have taken districts five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 20, 25, and 26.

There were still six districts that had not been called by Wednesday afternoon.

With Maloney’s significant loss in the traditionally liberal New York, some are thrilled that a Republican was able to edge into the 17th district.

“Fantastic. He deserved to lose. Bluntly, he worked against people of color … Not a tear shed and good riddance,” one Twitter user posted.

Fantastic. He deserved to lose. Bluntly, he worked against people of color–not only Mondaire Jones but pouring money into an Oregon race on behalf of a carpetbagger white man and *against* a womam of color. Not a tear shed and good riddance.

— Jonathan Tasini (Substack Working Life Newsletter) (@jonathantasini) November 9, 2022

“I hope Sean Patrick Maloney never holds office, again,” another user tweeted.

Sean Patrick Maloney ran for NY AG in the 2018 Democratic Primary to be a spoiler and stop leftist Zephyr Teachout from winning.

I hope Sean Patrick Maloney never holds office, again.

— Eric J (@EricJafMN) November 9, 2022

“I don’t like to lose, but my opponent won this race,” Maloney said in a statement on Zoom, according to the Times. “He won [it] fair and square … The right thing to do is say the other guy won and wish him well.”

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