BREAKING NEWS: Republicans take their biggest Democrat hair of the night: Top fundraiser Sean Patrick Maloney calls on his GOP rival to concede the race in upstate New York
- Sean Patrick Maloney took it upon himself to keep Democrats in power in the House
- A sitting campaign manager hasn’t lost re-election since 1992.
- Maloney called on his Republican rival, Assemblyman Mike Lawler, to concede on Wednesday.
- “I don’t like to lose, but my opponent won this race and he won it fairly,” Maloney said at DCCC headquarters in Washington, DC on Wednesday.
Democrats faced one of their biggest losses in the House when the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, New York Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, conceded Wednesday morning to his Republican opponent.
It is rare for a Democratic campaign manager to lose his own re-election. In fact, a House campaign committee chairman from either party has not lost re-election since 1992.
Shortly after a news conference on his loss, the Associated Press called an election for Republican Assemblyman Mike Lawler.
“I don’t like to lose, but my opponent won this race and he won it fairly,” Maloney told reporters at DCCC headquarters in Washington, DC on Wednesday. And that means something. So I’m going to step aside.
Maloney said he spoke with President Joe Biden to report that “the Democrats stood their ground.”
“We believe that November 8, 2022 will be a landmark date in American political history,” he added.
Despite better-than-expected performances from Democrats across the country, Maloney’s loss is a blow to the party, which was struggling to maintain its already slim majority in the House.
Maloney was the man charged with keeping the Democrats in power in the House.
DCCC Rep. and Chairman Sean Patrick Maloney called on his Republican challenger to concede Wednesday morning in a shock defeat for Democrats. Pictured: Maloney speaks to reporters in Washington, DC on Wednesday after conceding to Republican Assemblyman Mike Lawler
Republican Assemblyman Mike Lawler will be the new congressman from New York’s 17th congressional district. The victor greets his supporters during an Election Night event early Wednesday, November 9
He faced a tough re-election race against Lawler, who consistently outperformed the incumbent in the polls.
Maloney said Wednesday that he called Lawler “to congratulate him on a good win.”
The nonpartisan Cook Report called the Lower Hudson Valley race a draw.
Maloney made a few moves that led to his downfall, including his decision to switch districts after New York’s congressional map was redrawn to reflect the 2020 census.
He campaigned on the idea that he knew how to win tough races in swing districts.
Maloney faced backlash as he recalled eating Chef Boyardee as a child when prices were on the rise.
“That’s what families have to do” when times are tough, the outgoing DCCC president told Halston Media in an interview in late October.
After Lawler shared a clip of the interview on social media about eating canned ravioli to save money, Maloney’s spokesman criticized the GOP rival for “taking lightly” the struggle of families due to economic problems.
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