Former Clinton Aide Enters Hayworth Race as Challenger
New York City lawyer and former Bill Clinton aide Sean Patrick Maloney is the latest Democrat to throw his hat in the ring to challenge incumbent Republican Rep. Nan Hayworth.
Maloney, who previously ran for New York State attorney general in 2006, said he’s pursuing the position because he considers the 2012 election “the most important election I can remember.”
“I just think there’s so much at stake, and the current member of Congress doesn’t represent the values of the community,” he said. “I want to be part of changing the leadership in Congress and giving the district a representatives who shares its values.”
Though he currently lives in New York City and the Sullivan County town of Jeffersonville, Maloney said he plans to become a “full-time resident of the district very soon.”
Another of Hayworth’s Democratic challengers, Wappingers Falls mayor Matt Alexander, has already challenged Maloney on residency grounds in campaign fundraising literature.
Maloney and his partner Randy Florke are looking at the Dutchess County city of Beacon, as well as at other properties, he said. The pair have three children: Jesus, Daley and Essie.
Hayworth doesn’t have the best interests of the 19th congressional district in mind, Maloney said, adding that her Tea Party positions don’t mirror the political philosophy of most of her constituents.
“They want someone who can beat this Tea Party representative who does not fit with the Hudson Valley and with the things they believe and care about,” Maloney said of district Democrats. “She’s just way out of step with the needs of the district.”
In talking with voters, Maloney said he’s identified a few top priorities: job growth, protecting Medicare and Social Security and ending the Republican party’s “war on women.”
“Those are three things off the top of my head that would be different if I were the congressman than Nan Hayworth,” he said.
And though the Democratic field to unseat her is a crowded one, Maloney said he’s confident his experience — which includes a stint in Albany managing 13 state agencies and billions in budget dollars — and fundraising capabilities will set him apart.
“In terms of representing the district and having the ability to accomplish for the district, I think I have a set of experiences that is just different from the other people running,” he said. “I have the best capacity to beat the Tea Party incumbent who is holding the seat. I believe I will have greater organizational and financial capacity to run a race at this level.”
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.