Rep. Max Rose, who represents Staten Island and part of Brooklyn, is campaigning to win reelection in New York City’s most conservative district by blasting Mayor Bill de Blasio, a fellow Democrat.
Rose, a first-term member of Congress, defeated Republican Rep. Dan Donovan in 2018 in the 11th Congressional District, rated an R+3 toss-up by the Cook Political Report. The seat has swung frequently between both parties in recent election cycles due to redistricting, retirements, scandals, and resignations.
However, the district is the most politically conservative in the city, and it is where many law enforcement officers and firefighters reside with their families. Since the beginning of his tenure of nearly seven years, the mayor of New York never had many allies among this group of city workers.
Many New York Police Department officers blame de Blasio for the skyrocketing violent crime in the city as a result of the policies by the mayor and the City Council that they say are hostile to law enforcement.
Rose decided to capitalize off of de Blasio’s unpopularity in his district and the mayor’s lame-duck status. He dropped a political ad this week, reiterating that “Bill de Blasio is the worst mayor in the history of New York City” in a six-second spot. “That’s the whole ad,” he says, looking at the camera.
Bill de Blasio is the worst Mayor in the history of New York City.
Just stating the facts in my latest ad #NY11 pic.twitter.com/SHfBEix5l6
— Max Rose (@MaxRose4NY) September 9, 2020
The New York Democrat made the same claim in a 15-second spot, adding with a laugh, “That’s it, guys. Seriously. That’s the whole ad.”
One New York law enforcement source who lives in the district told the Washington Examiner that regardless of the ad, Rose is also known for marching with Black Lives Matters protesters. However, the congressman has an “army” of volunteers to assist him in his campaign.
Rose is in a tight race against New York Republican Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis, who currently represents parts of New York’s 11th Congressional District, Staten Island and Bay Ridge in the borough of Brooklyn. Malliotakis was the Republican candidate for mayor against de Blasio in 2017.
Rose told former Trump White House press secretary Sean Spicer on Twitter that he was serving in Afghanistan in 2013, so he did not vote for any candidate for mayor when de Blasio first ran. But in 2017, he voted for Reform Party candidate Sal Albanese for mayor.
Malliotakis campaign spokesman Rob Ryan responded to the Rose ad, telling the Washington Examiner, “It’s fun to watch two far-left New York politicians like Max Rose and Bill de Blasio bicker over who’s the worst mayor. The fact remains that Max Rose had the opportunity to join nearly 70% of his constituents who voted for Nicole Malliotakis in the 2017 race for mayor.”
Ryan added, “It’s obvious, Max Rose is so desperate that he’ll say or do anything to win this race, including attacking his buddy, Bill de Blasio.”
