Maloney clinging to lead in NY primary

House Oversight and Reform Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) is clinging to a lead of about 500 votes over primary challenger Suraj Patel in New York’s 12th District with thousands of votes still to be counted.

As of Wednesday morning, Maloney leads with 41.5 percent support, followed by Patel at 40 percent and progressive Lauren Ashcraft with 13.5 percent.

Absentee ballots are still being counted and will be accepted until June 30, as long as they are postmarked by June 23.

Maloney in a statement thanked voters for their support and did not signal any worry about the coming results.

“I am so grateful to all the voters who showed up yesterday, who voted early and who voted absentee to return me to Congress,” Maloney said. “This campaign was an opportunity not to just highlight my record of accomplishment and vision for a fairer future, but to talk about the opportunities ahead to advance police and criminal justice reform, to expand assistance to the millions impacted by COVID-19, and to hold President Trump accountable in what we are working to ensure are the final months of his disastrous presidency.”

Patel in a statement said his campaign believed he would prevail as mail-in ballots are counted.

“We are confident in our path to victory after a strong performance on Election Day, which traditionally favors establishment voters,” Patel said in a statement.

“Over 58 percent of New Yorkers have rejected the incumbent’s politics of the past. We have a mandate for change, and the final tally will reflect that. We are proud to have run the best absentee ballot field program in this race, and now the energy and momentum is on our side. With thousands of votes outstanding — many from young voters and people of color — we will fight to ensure that every vote is counted, every voice is heard, and New Yorkers have the representation they deserve.”

Maloney has been in Congress since 1992. She defeated Patel in her 2018 but primary, but he got more than 40 percent of the vote that year.

Maloney is in danger of becoming the second sitting Democratic chairperson to get knocked off in a primary this cycle.

Progressive Jamaal Bowman is leading House Foreign Affairs Chairman Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) by double digits in New York’s 17th District, although that race has not been called yet.