- Mondaire Jones won the crowded Democratic primary to replace retiring Rep. Nita Lowey in
New York 's Hudson Valley-based 17th Congressional District. - Jones beat State Senator David Carlucci, State Assemblyman David Buchwald, former Department of Defense official Evelyn Farkas, and former federal prosecutor Adam Schleifer.
The stakes:
On Tuesday, voters selected Mondaire Jones as Democratic nominee to replace long-time Rep. Nita Lowey, the chairwoman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, in the Hudson Valley-based 17th Congressional District, a safely Democratic seat which includes parts of Westchester County and all of Rockland County.
The Democratic field includes State Senator David Carlucci, State Assemblyman David Buchwald, former Obama administration Assistant Secretary of Defense Evelyn Farkas, former federal prosecutor Adam Schleifer,
Jones, a graduate of Stanford and Harvard Law School, worked in the Department of Justice under the Obama administration and most recently as a Westchester County attorney.
Progressives and many establishment figures alike rallied behind Jones, who raised $1.1 million this year and was been endorsed by Sanders, Warren, both the Congressional Black Caucus' and Congressional Hispanic Caucus' PACs, the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and many of its high-profile members including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
—Mondaire Jones (@MondaireJones) November 14, 2019
If elected, Jones would also make history as one of the first Black members of the LGBTQ+ community to serve in the US Congress.
A poll of the race commissioned by the Greenburgh Democrats and conducted by Public Policy Polling on June 15 found Jones leading the field with 25% of likely voters indicating they will vote for him, Farkas and Schliefer tied for second place with 14% each, and Carlucci at 11%.