Nadler topples Maloney, ending fellow House Democrat’s 30-year tenure

NEW YORK — Rep. Jerry Nadler successfully defended his seat in Manhattan’s newly drawn 12th Congressional District, capping off a competitive Democratic primary that pushed the 30-year member of the House of Representatives into a faceoff against his crosstown colleague, Rep. Carolyn Maloney.

The result ended a cutthroat campaign that forced two powerful committee chairs to duke it out for their final years in Congress. The new district combines Manhattan’s West Side — which has reliably backed Nadler for decades — with the East Side that Maloney has represented for just as long. Suraj Patel, a 38-year-old attorney, positioned himself as a fresh alternative to his septuagenarian rivals.

The race — one of the most closely watched in New York this cycle — effectively ends Maloney’s long career in politics, sending the 76-year-old fixture home after 30 years in the House of Representatives. First elected in 1992 when she defeated a Republican incumbent, Maloney rose to prominence through her fight for expanded health care access for 9/11 first responders and campaigned on her promise to champion stronger abortion protections.

In declaring victory Tuesday night, Nadler reflected on the ordeal of being thrown into a new district decades into his congressional tenure.

“It might have been so much easier to move away from this community and represent a different part of the city,” he said. “I have lived here for my entire adult life. I love the people of this community and what they represent. Why would I want to be any place else?”

Nadler vowed to fight a rise in extremism, citing the Jan. 6 insurrection and stating the Supreme Court “bulldozed our rights” after overturning Roe v. Wade.

“I know how overwhelming these challenges can feel,” Nadler said. “I know that when confronted with fights as massive as those that [come] before us, it can feel impossible to do anything but surrender. But here is the thing — I’m a New Yorker. ... We New Yorkers just don't know how to surrender."

Nadler’s supporters gathered Tuesday night at the campaign’s watch party at Cafe Arte, an Italian restaurant on the Upper West Side. They audibly cheered when the Associated Press declared him the victor, roughly 40 minutes after polls had closed. City Comptroller Brad Lander, City Council Member Erik Bottcher and former Manhattan Borough President Ruth Messinger were among the dozens gathered.

“A lot of people here just have known and loved Jerry a long time and feel very passionate about him,” said Lander, who campaigned with him this weekend at the famed Zabar’s grocery store.

Less than four miles away at Maloney’s campaign event, backers booed Nadler as he declared victory on news station NY1, with one calling him a “traitor.” Some were surprised to learn from his remarks that Maloney had already conceded, as she had yet to take the stage.

Maloney officially conceded an hour after Nadler’s remarks, calling her rival a “distinguished member of Congress.” In her concession, Maloney touted her work securing health benefits for 9/11 responders and funding for the Second Avenue Subway extension that benefited her district.

“I am proud to have followed in the footsteps and stand on the shoulders of the strong New York women who opened doors and took on the tough battles,” Maloney said, referencing former New York Reps. Shirley Chisholm and Geraldine Ferraro.

“I’m really sad that we no longer have a woman representing Manhattan in Congress, and we cannot and we must not give up. The fight continues,” she continued.

The clash of congressional titans began when New York’s House lines were redrawn this spring, following population shifts recorded in the 2020 Census. Nadler and Maloney found themselves in a matchup neither of them wanted, with Patel depicting both as out-of-step relics.

The change dates back to 2014, when voters approved a constitutional amendment to allow an independent panel to draw the district lines, in an effort to remove politics from the process. But the state’s redistricting commission couldn’t agree on a set of maps earlier this year, resulting in the Democrat-controlled state Legislature drawing the new districts for New York’s 26 House seats and 213 state legislative seats.

In April, New York’s top court rejected the new lines, finding that lawmakers failed to follow the “prescribed constitutional procedure” for drawing maps and that those they created “were drawn with an unconstitutional partisan intent.”

Ultimately, the process was left to a Republican judge in small, upstate Steuben County and special master Jonathan Cervas, a Carnegie Mellon University fellow. The end results scrambled New York’s political landscape, resulting in a race that at least one longtime incumbent was certain to lose.

Polling was scant throughout the race, but the few independent surveys showed Nadler in the lead.

He secured key endorsements from the New York Times editorial board and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. Nadler leaned on his record overseeing two Trump impeachments, and his Upper West Side base is known for reliably high turnout. He also sought to appeal to Jewish voters by reminding them he is the only remaining Jewish congressmember in New York City’s House delegation.

“There is nothing like the turnout on the West Side,” Messinger said, even if it was somewhat blunted by the primary being scheduled in late August.

Maloney, chair of the Oversight and Reform Committee, sought to turnout women voters who concerned about the Supreme Court’s curtailment of abortion protections. She leaned into her gender in the final weeks of campaigning, running an ad that states, “You cannot send a man to do a woman’s job.” Maloney earned the backing of NOW NYC, Gloria Steinem and EMILY’s List.

Maloney and Nadler have feuded throughout the summer, sparring over who deserves credit for helping fund the Second Avenue subway, a long-delayed project that benefited the Upper East Side.

Maloney, 76, has also insinuated on the campaign trail that Nadler — who one year her junior — may not serve a full term. Nadler has at times appeared less vibrant than his competitors, stumbling in his opening remarks for the NY1 debate and sitting while they stood for the 90-minute televised faceoff. But he was seen hitting the pavement in recent days, talking to voters throughout the district.

Meanwhile, Patel has repeatedly attacked Maloney’s past skepticism on vaccines — a position that entailed her promoting debunked studies linking autism to vaccinations. Maloney has since expressed “regret” for “any statement I ever made asking a question about vaccines” and said she helped work on Covid-19 vaccine distribution.

Despite the divisiveness, all three were relatively aligned on policy issues.

During the NY1 debate, they voiced similar positions on topics from climate change to subway safety. They also agreed on expanding the conservative-leaning Supreme Court during a WPIX debate.

But Nadler has sought to distinguish himself on the basis of his voting record. He readily points out he opposed the U.S. invasion into Iraq and the post-Sept. 11 Patriot Act — both of which Maloney supported — while embracing the Iran nuclear deal, which she opposed.

Nadler and Maloney drew headlines for their comments on whether President Joe Biden should pursue a second term. When asked during a debate, Nadler said it was “too early to say,” while Maloney said she “doesn’t believe he’s running for reelection.”

In a bit of irony, it was the younger candidate clamoring for generational change who found himself slamming the older incumbents for not voicing more support for the sitting Democratic president. (They later changed their tune on the matter.)