Carolyn Maloney rips Jerry Nadler as ‘senile’ to close nasty NY-12 primary fight
The battle for the aged is nearing its end.
The cantankerous contest to represent New York’s new 12th Congressional District will lead to either Rep. Jerrold Nadler, 75, or Rep. Carolyn Maloney, 76, losing their House seat after three decades in Congress — closing a nasty rivalry that climaxed with Maloney accusing her colleague of being “senile.”
Maloney took a line from The Post’s weekend editorial that mocked Nadler as “this close to senile” for forgetting who he helped impeach as chair of the House Judiciary Committee.
“I think that you should read the editorial in the New York Post today,” Maloney told NY1 on Saturday, pointing out Nadler’s gaffe during a debate in which he mistakenly said he impeached ex-President George W. Bush “twice” — when he really meant former President Donald Trump.
“They call him ‘senile,’” Maloney added. “They cite his performance at the debate where he couldn’t even remember who he impeached. He said he impeached Bush!”
“I’m not going to dignify something so ridiculous with a response,” Nadler told The Post through a spokesman on Tuesday.
The longtime allies were forced to butt heads after Democrats’ botched gerrymander smashed Nadler’s Upper West Side and Maloney’s Upper East Side fiefdoms into a single district. The two lawmakers have shared credit for a number of legislative victories over the years, but those were quickly forgotten at the prospect of one of them losing out on yet another House term.
“I think Carolyn and I have worked on a lot of things together but I think I have a more principled, progressive record,” Nadler told reporters after casting his ballot at the Lincoln Towers on West 70th Street and stumping at the 72nd and Broadway and 86th and 2nd Avenue subway stations.
“She voted for war in Iraq, I voted against it,” he went on. “She voted for the Patriot Act, I voted against it. She voted against the Iran deal, I voted for the Iran deal.”
Nadler has also tried to take credit for securing funding for the Second Avenue subway, telling New York magazine in an interview earlier this month: “She’ll deny it, but I was instrumental in getting the Second Avenue subway running. Carolyn came to me and asked me to get the funding, and I got it.”
A livid Maloney fired back to the same publication, saying of Nadler: “He was not at the groundbreaking, he was not at the ribbon-cutting, he was not at any of the meetings I had with the MTA. We had hearings on it in the city, and he never came to any of them. He’s lying.”
Maloney has also tried to stake a position as the feminist, pro-choice candidate, knocking Nadler over the weekend for standing by his longtime ally, former Comptroller Scott Stringer, even after he was accused of sexually harassing two women — an allegation that torpedoed Stringer’s mayoral bid last year.
“Someone who claims to fight for women’s rights but openly campaigns with a man accused of sexual assault is not who voters should send back to Washington during an extremely fragile moment for women’s rights,” Maloney told The Post.
Maloney has also openly questioned whether Nadler is up for spending another two years in Washington, first raising the issue in a less-than-subtle way at an Aug. 14 event at Carl Schurz Park.
“I give you my word, if I have the honor of representing you, I will be in the trenches every single day for two years, working to make the Democratic Party stronger or working for my district,” she said. “I ask the same pledge from each of my opponents.”
She didn’t mention Nadler by name, but the congressman insisted Tuesday that he planned to run again in 2024 if he was nominated, denying rumors that he planned to step down and boost Stringer for the seat.
Recent polling in the race favors Nadler, and his candidacy got an extra boost with endorsements from the New York Times editorial board and powerful Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
“The Times endorsement is so meaningful in this race,” Democratic consultant Chris Coffey, CEO of Tusk Strategies, told The Post. “There’s still old folks who walk to the poll sites with their NYT endorsement rolled up.”
Coffey added that Maloney was also hurt by the redistricting debacle, which forced New York to hold its first-ever primary in August — when much of the congresswoman’s Upper East Side base are vacationing in the Hamptons, the Hudson Valley or elsewhere.
“In June, people are still there,” he said. “In August, restaurants are closed. You can park whether you want. How many of those people actually vote and remember to do their absentees? She needs those voters!”
Coffey also said Maloney’s standing could be further hurt by attorney and businessman Suraj Patel, who has challenged her in each of the past two cycles.
“He’s run two times in this district before and he’s done well in Stuyvesant Town,” he said, referring to the East Side residential development.
Even if Maloney is shown the door by primary voters, Coffey suggested New Yorkers haven’t heard the last of her.
“It’s hard to see Carolyn retiring,” he said. “I’d imagine if she loses, she will stay involved.”
Todd Shapiro, a public relations veteran who worked on Maloney’s campaigns for nearly a decade, agreed.
“Every moment of her personal life is lived to work for the people of New York. She was the one who came to the firefighters union to fight for their rights and for their victim compensation,” he said of Maloney’s post-Sept. 11 advocacy for New York’s Bravest.
“If anything happens to Carolyn Maloney tonight, she’s far from over,” Shapiro added. “If she loses, she’s Rocky Balboa in the first fight, coming back and winning right after.”
