Malliotakis sweeps GOP primary
Mud-slinging intensifi es as southern Brooklyn congressional race heats up
BY ROSE ADAMS
Assemblywoman Nicole
Malliotakis swept the Republican
congressional primary
in District 11 on June 23 — setting
the stage for a race against
Democratic Rep. Max Rose in
one of the country’s most contentious
swing districts.
“The time has come, my
friends, to send Max Rose packing
and make him a one-term
wonder, like other Democrats
who have held this seat,” Malliotakis
said during her victory
speech.
Malliotakis, who has President
Donald Trump’s endorsement,
claimed more than 70
percent of the in-person votes
on Tuesday night, defeating
Staten Island challenger Joe
Caldarera. She will face off
against Democrat Rep. Max
Rose in November for the
Staten Island and southern
Brooklyn congressional seat.
The race is one of the most
closely-watched in the country,
as the district is one of only
seven nationwide that elected
a Democratic congressman in
4 COURIER LIFE, JULY 3-9, 2020
2018 after voting overwhelmingly
for President Donald
Trump. In that election, Rose
narrowly beat Republican incumbent
Dan Donovan, becoming
the second Democratic
congressman in 30 years to represent
the district.
Rose, a 33-year-old Army
veteran who served in Afghanistan,
catered to the district’s
base two years ago with
moderate policies and calls for
bipartisan unity. While in offi
ce, he has been careful to toe
the party line while distancing
himself from his left-most colleagues
— voting for Trump’s
impeachment, for example.
Malliotakis, an assemblymember
and 2017 mayoral
candidate, is relatively moderate
herself for a Trump supporter,
earning a C-minus rating
from the NRA, and saying
she is “not looking to repeal
Roe v. Wade.”
The two have spent months
slinging attacks at each other
— which have intensifi ed since
Malliotakis declared victory.
“I could not be happier to
welcome Nicole Malliotakis to
the general election as she’s a
fraud who represents everything
we hate about our politics,”
Rose tweeted.
Rose then debuted a website
and an attack ad against Malliotakis
only hours after she
won the primary, the Staten Island
Advance fi rst reported.
Many of Rose’s attacks
hinge on statements Malliotakis
made in 2017 claiming that
she regretted voting for Trump
— a quote Malliotakis now says
was sarcastic and taken out of
context.
“As you may know, Nicole
has an extremely long record
of fl ip-fl opping, some say it’s
the world record,” Rose’s campaign
writes in a petition calling
for Malliotakis to become
the global ambassador for fl ip
fl ops. “So, as we enter Summer,
we thought there had to be a
way to reward Nicole’s life-long
commitment to fl ip-fl opping.”
Malliotakis, whose Twitter
feed is equally devoted to trashing
her opponent, has grouped
Rose with Democratic-socialists
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
and Ilhan Omar, often calling
him part of the “radical left.”
“During his campaign and
in offi ce, Max Rose claimed that
he’s a moderate. But in reality,
he votes with Nancy Pelosi
over 95-percent of the time, and
he has caved to Alexandria Ocasio
Cortez, Ilhan Omar and
the socialist squad,” Malliotakis
said when accepting the endorsement
of the Staten Island
Republican Party.
An attack ad funded by the
pro-Trump group the American
Action Network also highlighted
Rose’s left-leaning voting
record, implying that it
contradicts his image as a moderate
Democrat.
But, while the claws are already
out, the fi ght for the seat
has just begun, Malliotakis
said.
“We can sit back and watch
silently as all we cherish is torn
down or we can stand shoulder
to shoulder and fi ght back
against the socialist agenda
that is sweeping this land,” she
said.
Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis and Rep. Max Rose will face off in November.
File photo by Tom Callan/Max Rose For Congress
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