As Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY) faces a heated battle to remain in Congress, the Democrats’ House campaign arm has decided to place a $605,000 ad buy in an effort to boost him in his race in the final stretch of the election.
Maloney, who opted to run in New York’s newly drawn 17th Congressional District, ousting freshman Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-NY) in a contentious primary, is facing off against state Assemblyman Mike Lawler (R-NY), whom Republicans have spent roughly $7 million to boost in the race.
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The news comes in the wake of Cook Political Report moving his race from “lean Democrat” to “toss up” on Monday, indicating that the senior Democrat is in danger of losing the D+3 seat.
In response to the DCCC’s move, the NRCC decided to spend an additional $867,000 in his district, Axios reported Monday.
Cook argued in its ratings change analysis that “two weeks out from Election Day, Maloney finds himself in deep danger, simultaneously fighting for his political life in his Hudson Valley seat and desperately trying to prevent Democrats from being swept out of the House majority.”
The 30-second spot being placed by the DCCC attempts to paint Lawler as a “MAGA extremist,” a tactic Democrats have utilized in hopes of giving them an edge in swing districts.
Maloney recently acknowledged to the Times Union that his seat was at risk, telling the publication: “Of course, I worry about it. I run like I’m behind. That’s why I’ve been successful.”
Lawler told the outlet that internal polling shows him with a 6-point advantage, while Maloney’s camp argued that its polling showed them with a slight lead.
The National Republican Congressional Committee and GOP leadership-aligned super PAC Congressional Leadership Fund have made Maloney a top target, arguing that his seat even being in play suggests Republicans have a sizable edge in the midterm elections.
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“Sean Patrick Maloney was not ready for Republicans to bring it, and now that we have, he’s going to lose,” NRCC spokeswoman Samantha Bullock said in a statement.
And CLF Communications Director Calvin Moore taunted the New York Democrat for diverting funds from other vulnerable members to fund his own race.
“Frontline Democrats getting cut off can thank Sean Patrick Maloney and his vain attempt to save himself,” he said in a statement. “Sean Patrick Maloney’s hubris is the reason why he’s in a tough race to begin with, and now it’s the reason Democrats will lose additional seats in November.”
If Maloney loses his race, it would be the first time a DCCC chairman was defeated since Rep. Jim Corman (D-CA) was unseated in 1980. The last NRCC chair to lose a race was Rep. Guy Vander Jagt (R-MI) in 1992.
