The nonpartisan Cook Political Report has shifted its rating for the seat of Democratic Rep. Patrick Maloney in New York’s 17th District – which includes all of Rockland County – from “lean Democrat” to “toss up,” a stunning trend in the district with a large Jewish population.

“When Republicans’ top Super PAC announced an ad buy against Democratic Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney 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,” said Cook Political Report U.S. House editor Dave Wasserman.

Wasserman noted that Republicans have been outspending Democrats in NY-17 and that there is strong Republican momentum in New York, pointing to Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin shrinking the gap between himself and incumbent Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul.

“A Maloney defeat would be a historic shock: a sitting House campaign committee chair hasn’t lost reelection since 1992 (when NRCC Chair Guy Vander Jagt lost his primary), though DCCC Chair Cheri Bustos came close to losing in 2020 (52%-48%) and NRCC Chair Tom Reynolds came close in 2006 (52%-48%). A sitting chair hasn’t lost a general election since 1980, when DCCC Chair Jim Corman lost his seat in California,” Wasserman wrote.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)