Rep. Carolyn Maloney and challenger Suraj Patel (Campaign Website / Instagram)
Feb. 14, 2022 By Christian Murray
Suraj Patel, who unsuccessfully ran against Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney in 2018 and again in 2020, announced today that he is mounting yet another challenge.
Patel, an attorney who lost to Maloney by 3,200 votes in 2020, is back for the third time in his quest to represent the 12th Congressional District. The first time Patel challenged Maloney in 2018, she beat him by more than 8,000 votes.
He made the announcement Monday while releasing a 90 second ad posted to social media that attacked Maloney. The ad accuses her of playing a role in the drawing of the new congressional district map, which cuts outs progressive neighborhoods that have been less receptive to her.
“Afraid of another challenge, our representative gerrymandered young and Latino voters out of her district,” Patel says in the ad, referring to portions of Astoria and Williamsburg that are no longer part of the 12th Congressional district.
“Call me old-fashioned, but I think voters should choose their politicians, not the other way around.”
State Democrats who drew the congressional maps deny that gerrymandering took place. However, a New York Times article, based on unnamed sources, said that she was calling for such changes.
The current Congressional District 12 Map (left) vs. the new map. Significant portions of Astoria and Williamsburg have been cut out of the new map. (Source: RedistrictingandYou.org)
Maloney, 75, was first elected to the 14th Congressional District in 1992 and has represented the 12th Congressional District since 2013.
Maloney and Patel had a fierce battle in 2020.
She led him by just 648 votes on the night of the election and a battle ensued over the counting of absentee ballots. As many as 20 percent of the absentee ballots were thrown out due to technicalities. He took the case to court before ultimately conceding.
Patel, 38, said that it is time for new leadership.
“Democrats need a new generation of leaders,” he said in a statement. “This is a new decade, a new district, and as we enter year three of a pandemic we’ve got new challenges, which means we need a government that proactively develops 21st century solutions to 21st century problems.”
Patel is not the only challenger in the race. Rana Abdelhamid, a progressive, has also announced she is running. So too has Maya Contreras, a housing and voting rights advocate.
The district covers sections of Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn—including the East Village, the West Village, the Upper East Side, most of Midtown as well as Long Island City, parts of Astoria and Greenpoint in Brooklyn.
The primary is scheduled for June 28.
Call me old fashioned, but I like when voters chose their politicians, not the other way around.
With our democracy under attack, we need consistent fighters for it everywhere.
I’m running for Congress in #NY12 because I’ll never stop fighting for the City I love. pic.twitter.com/iop3CumwR4
— Suraj Patel (@surajpatelnyc) February 14, 2022
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10 Comments
Teach a man to fish and you feed him for life. Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. learning to fish is hard you need to learn your knots, technique and have patience and persistence. Once you are successful it is fun and empowering.
On the another hand being given a fish will make you lazy, helpless and dependent on the giver. Like a spoiled child you will try to convince everyone that you should be given more fish.
Democrats have failed us
Carolyn Maloney, chairwoman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, says “Bring it on. I’ll see everyone on the campaign trail.” Sure wish she was my Congressperson. One of the fiercest women in the House.
With many socialist moving out of Astoria seeking safer places to live the socialists movement and identity politics is spreading through out other parts if Western Queens. Candidates like Patel have a better chance as the years go by in other districts.
Good luck Patel!
…and it’s still creepy now : https://nypost.com/2018/03/04/congress-candidate-makes-creepy-comments-about-mckayla-maroney/
i guess the progressive socialist democrat cant take a hint. is he the same attorney that’s been letting out all these violent criminals go free and back on our streets to commit more crimes just so he can make a profit? he’s so right about our democracy being attacked…by him.
“Call me old-fashioned, but I think voters should choose their politicians, not the other way around.”
This is very funny. Somehow the democrats didn’t piss off just the conservatives by making their districts “more diverse”, they also made the young firebrands mad. Now all of the crazies have to fight each other in the new NY-14th 🙂 oh no! Cry me a river, Mr Patel
Progressive, yeah thats all I need to hear. How many more people need to be beaten and killed in NYC before progressive dems get off the defund the police bandwagon. It ain’t workin obviously.
I was a lifelong democrat but now Im going to vote the other way because of crime, one issue. I cant take progressive garbage anymore.
All the more reason to stay registered in the Democratic Party, since that’s the only way you can vote in the Democratic primary in June. Maloney is not a defund-the-police candidate.
Another fake progressive fighting for people of color. Like Black or Latino politicians don’t gerrymander districts so they can get their people in their districts. It’s all about power. That’s it!