UPDATED: 09 NOV 2022 12:16 PM EST
Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, the chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, conceded defeat Wednesday, a humiliating loss for Democrats and the chair of the party’s campaign arm.
He was ousted by GOP state lawmaker Mike Lawler, who attacked the five-term congressman over crime and inflation.
Maloney appeared at the DCCC headquarters in Washington on Wednesday to brief reporters flanked by his husband Randy Florke. Growing emotional when discussing his partnership with Speaker Nancy Pelosi and his aides, he praised Democratic Party leadership and his staff at the campaign arm while crediting them with a much closer-than-expected result.
House Democrats “beat the spread” on Tuesday, Maloney said, acknowledging that Lawler “won this race fair and square” but declaring that Democrats as a whole had much to be proud of.
“We resisted the temptation to chase the shiny objects,” said Maloney. “We were disciplined and focused. And we did the work.”
The hastily organized press conference came just minutes after Maloney called Lawler to concede the race, and later fielded a call from President Joe Biden.
With dozens of key races still uncalled, he said control of the lower chamber was still in play: “As we sit here, I can't with 100% certainty tell you who holds the House majority."
The House Democratic Caucus will hold a call this afternoon to discuss the elections, Maloney said.
Maloney did not remain in New York's 17th District to watch returns come in, despite his campaign schedule including the Rockland County Democrats' watch party.
After voting in New York, Maloney returned to Washington on Tuesday afternoon "to oversee national results," according to a spokesperson for the DCCC.
The district leans blue and went for President Joe Biden in 2020 by 10 points. But it was mostly new territory for Maloney, who pivoted to run for the new seat after New York’s bungled redistricting process prevented final lines from being released until this May.
Lawler, a Rockland County native, also represents only a fraction of it in his current role, but has consistently polled with tight margins against Maloney.
His key platforms of combating crime and tackling inflation mirror those of the party, but resonated especially well in the new 17th District — which includes part of Westchester County, along with more exurban counties like Putnam and Rockland. It encompasses several diverse communities, including a large and politically active Orthodox Jewish voting bloc. The area also has a large proportion of households with first responders, law enforcement or military members.
"Mike is the first candidate to defeat a DCCC Chair since 1980 because he kept the Hudson Valley at the center of his campaign," said Rep. Tom Emmer, chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, in a statement. "The voters of Putnam, Westchester, and Rockland resoundingly rejected Sean Patrick Maloney’s pro-criminal policies."
Maloney’s perilous position pulled millions in outside spending from both Democrats and Republicans in the final weeks of the race. He’s riled his colleagues multiple times this election cycle, and the race has raised questions from his peers about electing swing-seat DCCC leaders.
He sought to paint Lawler as a Trump-aligned extremist with the nickname MAGA Mike and pointing to his anti-abortion rights views. He also stressed how Lawler also refused to condemn a CLF mailer as racist during a handful of NAACP forums.
Andrew Desiderio contributed to this report.
