Rep. Jerrold Nadler took a swipe Wednesday at his Democratic primary opponent, Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, accusing his fellow veteran New York lawmaker of being an “anti-vaxxer” and exaggerating her record as a progressive.
“Carolyn and I both present ourselves as progressive, but I think as more people find out about our votes, she voted for the Iraq war. She voted against the Iran [nuclear] deal. She voted to repeal Glass Steagall and she was an anti-vaxxer for a long time,” Mr. Nadler told The Washington Times. “I think people will see the difference.”
Four other Democratic opponents have entered the primary for the newly drawn 12th Congressional District, including Suraj Patel, who previously ran against Mrs. Maloney in the 2020 primary.
Mr. Patel, a former Barack Obama staffer, had posted a montage of video clips of Mrs. Maloney two years ago showing her scrutinizing vaccines and their relation to rising autism rates. Although he lost, he was defeated by just 3.4 percentage points.
The Washington Times reached out to the Maloney campaign for comment and did not hear back.
Mrs. Maloney and Mr. Nadler found themselves primarying one another this election cycle, after 30 years of serving together as political allies in Congress, because a court-appointed special master re-drew parts of their original districts into one Manhattan district. The move followed a drawn-out redistricting battle in the courts.
Both lawmakers put their collegial feelings about one another aside and began taking shots at each another when it was apparent that only one could prevail in the new district.
Earlier in the month, Mrs. Maloney accused Mr. Nadler of sexism when he asked her to run in another district, according to The New York Post.
“I met with Jerry and he asked me to leave and stand aside,” Mrs. Maloney said of their conversation on the House floor on May 16, after the maps were set. “I said no because this district is majority mine.” She said that he would not have asked a male lawmaker to make the same move.
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.
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