Maloney highlights gender equity fight in first ad in primary against Nadler

Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) chronicles her work fighting for gender equality and abortion rights in her first campaign ad ahead of her party’s primary, when she’ll face off against Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) to keep her House seat.

“You cannot send a man to do a woman’s job,” Maloney says at the end of the ad, after walking through her career in public service alongside key Supreme Court decisions on the right to abortion.

Redistricting in New York shuffled the two House committee chairs into the same district earlier this year, forcing a clash between the longtime Democratic allies for the seat representing the new 12th District. 

Maloney didn’t directly mention Nadler, but underscored her record on women’s issues: like a 2013 law aimed at clearing the backlog of unprocessed rape kits and a 2019 law offering paid family leave to federal employees. The ad also referred to her work to protect marriage equality.

She also references the recent Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned the right to abortion established in Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. 

“Today, the Dobbs decision overturned Roe, but being at the forefront of women’s rights has taught me we can fight back and win if we just don’t quit,” says Maloney, the first female chair of the House Oversight and Reform Committee.

Nadler and Maloney are both members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, but their upcoming head-to-head has forced New Yorkers and national Democrats to take sides.

After the New York Working Families Party endorsed him, Nadler referred to himself on Twitter as “the only true principled progressive and the best candidate in the race for the new NY-12.”

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) also endorsed Nadler, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, though she has also worked closely with Maloney. 

Just last month, Warren and Maloney introduced a bill to stave off anti-abortion disinformation at crisis pregnancy centers.

“When Manhattanites need a champion — someone to defend their reproductive rights, fight back against Republican bullies in Washington, and protect our kids from gun violence — they know that they can depend on Jerry,” Warren wrote in a tweet announcing her endorsement.

Early May polls showed Maloney leading Nadler by double digits. The New York Democratic primary will be held on Aug. 23.