Another Local Democrat Joins Race for Lowey’s Seat
A former national security official under President Barack Obama is the latest candidate in the growing field of Democrats looking to succeed Rep. Nita Lowey in the 17th Congressional District.
Chappaqua resident Evelyn Farkas, who served as the deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia in the Obama administration, announced her candidacy Monday.
Her entry into the fray swells the Democratic field to at least five hopefuls. She join Assemblyman David Buchwald, state Sen. David Carlucci and Rockland County-based attorney Mondaire Jones seeking the party’s nomination. Last Thursday, Sleepy Hollow resident Allison Fine, a recent national board chair for NARAL Pro-Choice America, author and advocate on women’s issues, also formally announced that she was entering the race and last month, Chappaqua resident Jo-Anna Rodriguez-Wheeler signaled her intention to run for the seat.
Farkas, who grew up in Chappaqua and graduated from its public schools, said her priorities is to keep the country safe from foreign interference, to stand up to President Donald Trump’s corruption and keep the American Dream alive for working families.
“I’m running for Congress because we are living in an all-hands-on-deck moment in our democracy,” Farkas said. “When Russians interfered in the 2016 election, I was among the first to sound the alarm, putting me in the crosshairs of Sean Hannity. But I haven’t backed down in my efforts to hold the President accountable for undermining our rule of law.
“I would be ready on day one to serve in the tradition of Congresswoman Lowey’s strong leadership – fighting for our corner of New York, keeping our country safe from foreign interference and helping working families strive for the American dream.”
A graduate of Franklin & Marshall College who holds a master’s from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, Farkas has worked for nearly 30 years in national security circles. She was a foreign policy leader for the Defense Department, Senate Armed Services Committee, the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the U.S. Marine Corps University’s Command and Staff College. She also ran a congressional commission focused on keeping weapons of mass destruction out of terrorists’ hands and advised former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during her time as a U.S. senator.
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