House Democratic campaign arm launching new ad hitting Maloney opponent

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is putting a half-million dollars into a new ad buy in New York’s 17th District amid signs of trouble for Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.).

The DCCC is spending $605,000 on a new television ad hammering Maloney’s Republican opponent Mike Lawler by tying him to “right-wing militias” and “MAGA extremists,” while ignoring issues like crime and inflation.

“Since day one, Chairman Maloney has been working tirelessly as a player coach,” Chris Taylor, a spokesperson for the DCCC, said. “He’s built a campaign and we’ve built an operation at the DCCC that can support that reality. As we have with every decision this cycle, we are making investments that ensure Democrats hold our House Majority.” 

The new ad spending came just hours after the Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan election handicapper, shifted the race for New York’s Hudson Valley-based 17th District from “lean Democrat” to “toss-up.”

It’s one of three battleground districts in the Hudson Valley that both parties have poured money into as they fight for control of the House. Shortly after the DCCC rolled out its latest ad buy in support of Maloney, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) upped its existing ad buy in the district by $867,000, according to a person familiar with the spending.

The latest investment brings the NRCC’s total spending in the race so far to nearly $1.8 million, the person said, adding that the committee is going “all in” on the district in the closing weeks of the campaign.

Maloney, who also chairs the DCCC, currently represents New York’s 18th District, but opted to run for reelection in the 17th District following the redistricting process. That move angered some in the party, including Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.), whose district includes large portions of the new 17th District.

If Maloney is defeated next month, he would be the first sitting DCCC head to lose reelection in more than four decades.