While both Democratic Socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and New York Governor Kathy Hochul were successful in their re-election bids this week, the rest of New York’s Democratic Party wasn’t so lucky; DCCC chair Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney shredded the high-profile lawmakers for not doing enough for the party and instead focusing on themselves.
Mahoney spoke to several media outlets about the aftermath of his loss in the race for New York’s 17th Congressional District.
“The last time I ran into A.O.C., we were beating her endorsed candidate two to one in a primary, and I didn’t see her one minute of these midterms helping our House majority. So, I’m not sure what kind of advice she has, but I’m sure she’ll be generous with it,” Maloney told The New York Times.
He added, “But let’s be clear, she had almost nothing to do with what turned out to be an historic defense of our majority. Didn’t pay a dollar of dues. Didn’t do anything for our frontline candidates except give them money when they didn’t want it from her.”
“Ocasio-Cortez previously came under fire in June after she endorsed Maloney’s more progressive primary challenger. Her disagreement with Maloney re-established an ongoing conflict between moderate and liberal Democrats,” Fox News reports.
“There are other voices who should be heard, especially when suburban voters have clearly rejected the ideas that she’s most associated with, from defunding the police on down. She’s an important voice in our politics. But when it comes to passing our agenda through the Congress, or standing our ground on the political battlefield, she was nowhere to be found,” Maloney said.
The DCCC chair also stopped by MSNBC’s Morning Joe to take a shot at Kathy Hochul.
“The governor is losing by double digits [in battleground House districts]. Our candidates have to outperform the governor by more than ten points, often more than 15 points. That’s a lot to ask of a first-time candidate,” Maloney said.
However, he later claimed he was “not blaming the governor” for New York losses.
“Blame me because I should have won 3,000 more votes.,” Maloney said. “What I mean is, to do so, I would have had to outperform the top of the ticket by 10-12 points and that’s a tall order and I was definitely walking and chewing gum at the same time.”
While the red wave failed to materialize nationwide, Republicans in New York performed significantly stronger than other states across the country.
More over at Fox News:
House Democrat campaign chief blasts AOC after New York losses: ‘I didn’t see her one minute’ helping https://t.co/BLd9MinQTF
— Fox News (@FoxNews) November 11, 2022
