Nancy Pelosi endorses Mondaire Jones in NY race against incumbent GOP Rep. Mike Lawler
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is throwing her weight behind Hudson Valley Democrat Mondaire Jones to take on incumbent Republican Rep. Mike Lawler.
Jones (D-NY) is facing a spirited primary contest against Liz Whitmer Gereghty, a business owner and the sister of rising Democratic star Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
“Honored to be endorsed by Speaker Pelosi! Last term, Democrats rescued the economy from collapse, capped drug costs for seniors and passed gun reforms,” Jones posted on X.
“By contrast, Mike Lawler’s MAGA Republicans can barely keep the lights on. Democrats must retake the House to continue our work.”
The endorsement from the longtime California Democrat comes as a rectification of sorts from the 2022 election cycle.
Amid redistricting upheaval, Pelosi’s ally, former Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY), opted to jump over from New York’s 18th Congressional District into the 17th, which was Jones’ at the time.
Maloney claimed that he made that switch in part because he lived in the 17th District after a court-drawn map shook up district contours and set multiple Democrats on collision courses with one another.
Technically, Jones’ home at the time was in the 16th Congressional District, held by Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), according to The Hill.
Maloney’s switcharoo forced Jones to run in New York’s 10th Congressional District, where he lost. Ironically, in the 18th Congressional District that Maloney abandoned, Rep. Pat Ryan (D-NY) prevailed over Republican Colin Schmitt.
During all that turmoil, Pelosi (D-Calif.), who was speaker at the time, ultimately backed Maloney, though she did later back Jones in his bid for the 10th District.
Lawler narrowly bested Maloney in the tightest congressional race of the 2022 cycle, garnering 50.32% to 49.68% in the general election for the 17th Congressional District.
President Biden has since nominated Maloney to serve as the US ambassador to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
The incumbent Republican cheered Pelosi’s endorsement of Jones.
“I’m proud to have helped end Nancy Pelosi’s reign as Speaker of the House. Enjoy her endorsement @MondaireJones — it didn’t help you when you ran in New York City last year and it won’t help you in the Hudson Valley next year,” he wrote on X.
“It’s from our orientation. It was worth it,” Lawler later explained about the photo of him next to Pelosi included in the post.
Lawler is widely regarded as a relatively centrist Republican seen by Democrats as one of the most vulnerable heading into the 2024 election cycle.
They have poured money into funding a slew of attack ads, billboards, and other efforts to take him down. He was one of three breakthrough Republican pickups in the Empire State back in 2022.
Democrats are also wrangling in court to try to undo the redistricting map that paved the way for the surprise GOP Long Island sweep and dethroning of the former DCCC chair.
Jones is generally regarded as a pretty progressive Democrat. He served in Congress from 2021 to 2023.
During that time, he took advantage of COVID-19 rule to vote via proxy while partying at HBO star Issa Rae’s lavish wedding on the French Riviera.
Earlier this month, he was forced to delete a post on social media that showed former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Lawler meeting with Jewish leaders in New York with the caption, “Well this was a waste of everyone’s time.”
Republicans have a slim four-seat majority in the lower chamber.
Lawler has recently joined fellow New York freshmen Republicans in a bid to expel scandal-plagued GOP Rep. George Santos from the chamber due to his indictment and fabrication scandal.
Democrats have eagerly sought to lump Empire State GOP members of Congress in with Santos.
