Nicole Malliotakis won New York’s 11th Congressional District against Rep. Max Rose, making him the latest House Democrat to lose once all ballots were counted. Rose conceded the race Thursday.
The 11th Congressional District, rated an R+3 toss-up by the Cook Political Report this cycle, is composed of two outer boroughs of New York City, with two-thirds of the district residing in the entire borough of Staten Island. The remaining third of the district is in the southern tier of Brooklyn.
Although the district is considered the most Republican-leaning district in the city, the seat has flipped frequently between parties in recent election cycles due to redistricting, retirements, scandals, and resignations.
The Staten Island and Brooklyn-based district voted for Donald Trump in 2016 by a 54% to 44% margin over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. The politics of the district led Rose to hold out until October 2019 to announce his decision that he would vote to support the articles of impeachment against Trump.
Rose first came to Capitol Hill after defeating Republican Rep. Dan Donovan in 2018 during the Democratic “blue wave” midterm election.
Following that win, though, Rose was considered to be one of the most vulnerable members this cycle when Republicans saw an opportunity to run Malliotakis, a Republican state assemblywoman whose district is part of the 11th Congressional District.
Malliotakis ran on a law and order campaign, pointing to the crime wave that spread through the city this year, and she criticized Rose for marching at a Black Lives Matter event in Staten Island.
Rose, however, pointed to Mayor Bill de Blasio as the main source of New York City’s crime problems. He even ran a short political ad simply saying that de Blasio was the “worst mayor in the history of New York City.”
