Politicians are famous for their grand sense of self-importance, but Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-Hudson Valley) takes the prize: He’s jumped into the race to become state attorney general even as he’s still running for re-election.
Indeed, since the September primary for state offices is three months after the June one for federal posts, he’ll be running for both jobs all summer.
The wealthy three-term incumbent plainly figures he can take a shot at a better job without risking his current one. So what if it’s a slap in the face of his constituents?
He says he’ll quit the House race if he wins the Democratic AG primary. “What the law says in New York is if you’re nominated for another office you have to give up the nomination for the first one. And that’s just what we’ll do — simple as that,” he told Roll Call.
No matter that it could leave his party scrambling for a replacement nominee — greatly increasing the odds for a Republican to win a House seat (it’s a swing district that President Trump carried by two points in 2016) in a year when Democrats are going all-out to win a majority.
If he wins the AG nod, Democratic bosses in Putnam, Orange, Dutchess and Westchester would hand-pick his replacement in the House race: No actual voters involved.
And if he doesn’t win that race, his “safe” job may not be: Elisa Sumner, the Dutchess Democratic chair, told Politico that Maloney’s gambit is “an insult to the people in his congressional district.”
Plus, he plans to use his nearly $3.2 million federal war chest to fund his simultaneous federal and state campaigns — which is unprecedented and may be illegal: Years back, the state Board of Elections stopped ex-Sen. Al D’Amato from transferring his federal funds to then-Gov. George Pataki’s state campaign.
The board will soon issue an advisory opinion on Maloney’s ploy, but the courts are sure to get involved.
Public Advocate Tish James is now the heavy favorite in the AG race, with united establishment backing. But Maloney plainly hopes James won’t play well outside her home base. And it could prove a crowded field, with the likes of eternal candidate Zephyr Teachout shooting for the job. Maybe the only man in the race will win …
Maloney claims he wants the AG job so he can persecute, er, prosecute President Trump — but every other Democrat would do the same. Anyway, he’s proving the only thing he really cares about is himself.
If there’s any justice, the guy running for two jobs will be defeated twice.