NEW YORK — Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) is leaning heavily into his high national profile, selling himself in the final days of his campaign as the prosecutor who pursued former President Donald Trump‘s impeachment.
At an Upper West Side rally attended by roughly 150 people, Nadler made the case that he is best equipped to take on Trump and the “openly and proudly insurrectionist” GOP, touting his record as a high-profile foil to the former president.
“Our democracy is in peril. We have a Republican Party that is openly and proudly insurrectionist. The Supreme Court has been packed by McConnell and Trump and is doing all it can to roll back Americans’ fundamental rights,” he told the crowd Saturday.
IDENTITY POLITICS DOMINATES NEW YORK RACE BETWEEN MALONEY AND NADLER
The New York Democrat bragged of his stint prosecuting the case against Trump during impeachment proceedings. Nadler was picked to be an impeachment manager in the Ukraine-focused impeachment. But, like the second impeachment effort focused on Jan. 6, Trump was acquitted by a GOP-led Senate.
“I’m incredibly proud of my record fighting for New Yorkers in Washington, whether I’m impeaching Trump — twice — fighting to codify Roe, or standing up to the gun lobby,” Nadler said. State Sen. Brad Hoylman, who endorsed Nadler, nicknamed him the “general counsel of the Resistance.”
Literature passed out at the event underscored the message that he was “leading the fight,” noting that “as chair of the House Judiciary Committee,” he led the House in “impeaching Donald Trump twice to hold him accountable for his abuse of power.”
“Jerry Nadler doesn’t shy away from the tough fights,” the handout added, applauding the New York Times endorsement of him as a “fearless and principled” leader and noting his tenure “leading both Trump impeachment hearings as Judiciary Chair and holding a corrupt administration accountable.”
The 75-year-old struggled with his microphone, prompting the crowd to call on him to raise his voice.
“Volume!” one person in the crowd shouted.
Nadler then raised his volume, punctuating his vows to deliver across a range of preferred policies.
“We have two choices in this moment: we can roll over and surrender to the vastness of the challenges before us, or we can be defiant. … I choose to stand up. I choose to meet this moment,” he said, listing his positions in favor of stricter gun control, expanding abortion access, and protecting same-sex marriage as evidence he would be “defiant” in the face of adversity.
New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, who has endorsed Nadler, said the congressman has had “guts” by voting in favor of the Iran deal and against the Patriot Act and the Iraq War as a record reflective of New Yorkers, a swipe at Rep. Carolyn Maloney, Nadler’s primary opponent.
“He has always done what is right when others were afraid to do it,” Lander said.
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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, including Nadler and Maloney, who previously worked together to advance progressive legislation.
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.
