Things are so bad for Democrats in the midterms that even the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is struggling for reelection, in New York no less.
Josh Kraushaar reports at Axios:
Midterm shock: Cook moves Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney to “tossup”This is a seismic shift in the midterm elections:
- Dave Wasserman, U.S. House editor of The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter, this morning moved the re-election race of House Democrats’ campaign kingmaker — DCCC Chair Sean Patrick Maloney of New York — to a toss-up.
Why it matters: It’s a sign of how big the GOP wave is looking — and how potent the issue of crime is in New York — that Republicans have a shot at unseating the powerful lawmaker in a double-digit Biden district.The district — NY-17 — had been rated “lean Democrat” by Cook.
- Maloney’s opponent in the newly redrawn district is first-term state Assemblyman Mike Lawler.
- The suburban New York City district backed Biden by 10 points.
What’s happening: On Sunday, Maloney’s campaign admitted to the Albany Times Union that the race is tight.
- Outside Republican groups, including ones aligned with House GOP leaders, have spent over $7 million on attack ads against Maloney to boost Lawler.
This is a bit shocking, and you just know it’s setting off alarm bells at DNC headquarters.
This new ad created to attack the Republican candidate Mike Lawler is almost cartoonish. Note how it begins with Sean Patrick Maloney respectfully talking to a police officer.
Caroline Vakil of The Hill has more on this:
“When Republicans’ top Super PAC announced an ad buy against Democratic Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (NY-17) in April, many assumed it was a gambit to troll or distract the DCCC chair. But two weeks out from Election Day, Maloney finds himself in deep danger, simultaneously fighting for his political life in his Hudson Valley seat and desperately trying to prevent Democrats from being swept out of the House majority,” wrote Cook Political Report U.S. House editor Dave Wasserman.Wasserman pointed to the gap in spending between outside Republican and Democratic groups — about $3.5 million to $384,000 — as well as Republican momentum in the state, with GOP gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin shrinking the gap between himself and Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) in recent polling.A clip of Maloney, the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), speaking about cash bail is also being used against the incumbent, a tactic that polls in other races have shown could be effective.
This would be a stunning loss for Democrats. An embarrassing, soul-crushing loss.
It says a lot about the state of the race and where things really stand, despite the spin from Democrats and the media.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY