Reps. Carolyn Maloney and Jerry Nadler are increasingly turning to identity politics as they make overtures to New York voters ahead of next Tuesday’s incumbent vs. incumbent primary.
Maloney is framing the race as a gender war, arguing Nadler embodies the “old boys network” after he received the high-profile backing of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
Nadler, meanwhile, is billing himself as the sole Jewish representative of New York City left in Congress.
“The old boys network is very, very close, and they support each other,” Maloney said of Schumer’s endorsement.
SCHUMER ENDORSES NADLER IN HEATED NEW YORK PRIMARY
Maloney has argued being a woman makes her uniquely qualified to represent New York’s newly drawn 12th Congressional District in the wake of the Supreme Court overturning the long-standing precedent of Roe v. Wade. The congresswoman, who was among a group of lawmakers who were arrested at an abortion rights rally last month, recently released an ad telling voters, “You cannot send a man to do a woman’s job.”
Nadler, by contrast, has indicated his Jewish heritage makes him best able to represent New York City, home to the largest Jewish population outside of Israel.
“New York has a lot of outstanding leaders, but few of them lead with the courage, conviction, and brilliant legislative effectiveness of my friend, Jerry Nadler,” Schumer, who is also Jewish, said of Nadler. “I’ve watched as time after time, Jerry — a critical partner of mine in the House — was right on the issues years before so many others.”
Earlier this month, Nadler sent out a fundraising email with the subject line “The Last Jewish Congressman from NYC???”
“For a century, New York has been the center of Jewish politics and identity in the United States – but Jerry Nadler is the city’s last Jewish congressman,” the email said, describing Nadler as a champion for defending Israel.
While the two were once close allies, Nadler and Maloney were thrown into the same district under the Empire State’s newly drawn congressional map. The lawmakers, aligned on most political topics, have reached back decades to unearth ideological differences, with Nadler blasting Maloney, who represented what was once the more conservative “Silk Stocking District,” for her votes in support of the Iraq War and the Patriot Act roughly 20 years ago.
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An aggressive map signed by New York. Gov. Kathy Hochul that would have locked in an expected 22-4 partisan advantage for Democrats was stricken by a series of courts, forcing Democratic lawmakers into awkward games of musical chairs with onetime allies. As Nadler and Maloney, both elected to Congress in the 1990s, battle for the 12th Congressional District, other incumbents managed to avoid being set on a collision course. Freshman Rep. Mondaire Jones, who represents a suburban district north of New York City, relocated to the new 10th Congressional District, thus averting a bitter fight against Rep. Sean Maloney or a tense faceoff with ally Rep. Jamaal Bowman.
New York’s 12th Congressional District has a partisan voter index of D+68, meaning whoever wins the Democratic nomination is expected to win the general election in November by a large margin.
