ICYMI: The many missteps of Mondaire Jones

ICYMI: The many missteps of Mondaire Jones

In case you missed it…City and State New York is out with a scathing new recap on Mondaire Jones's multiple mistakes and self-inflicted wounds this election cycle.

Read more here and below.

The Many Missteps of Mondiare Jones
City and State New York
October 15, 2024

As he looks to unseat Republican Rep. Mike Lawler, former Rep. Mondaire Jones isn't too worried about the fact that Sean Patrick Maloney, the former chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, lost the seat to Lawler two years ago. He argues that people in the 17th Congressional District know him much better than Maloney, owing to his two years representing them in Congress during the Biden years.

Returning to the Lower Hudson Valley district after a doomed run for the 10th Congressional District in Manhattan and Brooklyn, Jones is banking on his existing relationships in the district. While Jones may be remembered in the district, he may not be well-liked - largely thanks to a series of self-inflicted blunders.

[…]

Moderates have their own bone to pick with Jones, who left the Hudson Valley in 2022 when he chose to run for an open House seat in New York City. Although it was once widely believed that Jones had been pushed out of his district by Maloney following redistricting, City & State reported earlier this year that Maloney had actually offered to let Jones run in the district, which Jones declined to do.

Jones has a habit of alienating onetime allies. While praising former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in an interview with New York magazine, Jones implied that Gov. Kathy Hochul was a "little bitch" in comparison - despite her work to support a statewide coordinated campaign to flip and retain House seats in swing districts, including his own. (Jones later said that he apologized to Hochul about the incident.)

Veteran political consultant Hank Sheinkopf called Jones a "phony" and said that voters in the district can see that his decision-making seems to be driven purely by "political expediency."

[…]

Read more here.