By: Ilana Siyance
The upcoming presidential election, between President Donald J Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden in the nation’s capital, will have other political implications in New York. It will play an important role in the fiercely fought congressional races on Staten Island, in the suburbs and upstate. As reported by the NY Post, the presidential election will influence the 11th Congressional District race, including Staten Island and southern Brooklyn, where first-term Democratic Rep. Max Rose will face off against challenger GOP Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis, a former mayoral candidate. This House race is the most closely watched and most expensive in the United States. The district has historically been the most conservative in NYC.
Malliotakis, 39, is currently serving her fifth term in the state assembly, being first elected in 2010. She has said her top priority in Congress would be restoring full funding to the New York Police Department and working to take violent criminals off our streets. She is being endorsed by President Trump, as well as a host of Police associations.
Rose, 33, who currently represents the congressional district since 2019, was formerly a platoon leader in the war in Afghanistan. Born in Brooklyn to a Jewish family Rose has vowed to help fix healthcare, lower drug costs, combat the opioid crisis, rebuild infrastructure and stop gun violence. Rose had voted to impeach Trump. He is only the second Democrat in 30 years to hold the seat representing District 11.
Former GOP Rep. Vito Fossella, who held the congressional seat for a decade, is saying the congressional race “is a real street fight”. She explains that a strong pro-Trump showing at the polls, coupled with Malliotakis’ vigorous pro-law-enforcement message, would set the GOP up for a victory.
On the other hand, veteran political consultant Bruce Gyory told The Post that Rose would profit if the pandemic and other health-care issues led voters’ concerns at the polls, as Biden has been trying to push. “These are two very effective candidates going after each other,” said Gyory.
In 2016, Trump carried the district by 10 points, but Democrats don’t think he will carry manage such a margin again in this race. Another major issue in the race may end up being a gender gap, with more women drifting toward Democrats because of Biden’s Vice Presidential pick of Sen. Kamala Harris. “The question is whether the gender gap becomes a gender gulch,” said Gyory.
Overall, Democrats control 20 out of 27 congressional seats in New York.
