Max Rose won the Democratic nomination for New York’s 11th Congressional District on Tuesday, setting him up for a rematch against Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) in one of the most closely watched midterm races this year.
Rose, an Army veteran, previously held the seat when he was elected during the Democrats’ nationwide blue wave in 2018, but he was ousted by Malliotakis in 2020. Now, the Democratic nominee faces an uphill battle as he seeks to retake his seat in the Republican-leaning district that encompasses Staten Island and parts of southern Brooklyn.
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The 11th District has seen both Democrats and Republicans winning the seat over the last 12 years, but recent internal polling shows Malliotakis with a slight edge over Rose. Fifty-one percent of voters in the district said they’d back a second term for Malliotakis, compared to 36% for Rose, according to a poll by the National Republican Congressional Committee and the Malliotakis campaign.
However, some Democrats believe the political environment may be shifting in their favor and will continue to do so now that Rose has clinched the nomination over progressive candidate Brittany Ramos DeBarros. Rose gained an early lead over DeBarros with high-profile endorsements and heavy fundraising, and his win on Tuesday sets him up to receive a surge in cash from national Democrats.
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Rose’s fate in the general election may be tied to the approval ratings of President Joe Biden. A large majority, 68%, of the district disapproves of Biden’s performance as president so far, compared to just 30% who approve, according to the NRCC poll.
However, Rose has brushed off those numbers, telling the New York Post the polling is “about as real as Donald Trump’s claim he won the election.”
