Winner Maloney at recent Philipstown forum; photo: K.E.Foley

Now faces Hayworth in November contest 

By Kevin E. Foley

Sean Patrick Maloney, a new Philipstown homeowner, leveraged his superior political strength into an impressive victory in the Democratic congressional primary held yesterday (June 26). According to LoHud.com, Maloney won close to 50 percent of the votes in a five-candidate race.  He now will face one-term incumbent Republican Rep. Nan Hayworth in the November election.

With results from 99 percent of the voting districts in, LoHud.com reported Maloney had 7,098 votes.  His closest rival, Cortlandt cardiologist and Town Councilman, Richard Becker, had 4,775 or 33 percent.  Wappinger’s Falls Mayor Matt Alexander trailed badly with 1,752 votes. Two other candidates, Duane Jackson and Tom Wilson, barely registered their presence, dividing 1,000 votes.

Maloney, a Manhattan-based lawyer with both federal and state government experience, had strong union support, an endorsement from his former boss President Bill Clinton and the most campaign funds.  In the last weeks of the race his campaign mass mailings and phone calls clearly outnumbered rivals.  Locally, the Philipstown Democratic Committee had supported Maloney.

Becker, who had campaigned the longest, starting well before the lines of the 18th district were drawn, had garnered significant support in Westchester and Orange Counties as well as the editorial endorsement of the New York Times. Assemblywoman Sandy Galef was among several regional elected officials who supported Becker.

The total vote in the primary, held for the first time in years in June (as a result of a federal court ruling), was approximately 10 percent of the registered Democratic voters.  Maloney will now have to build a campaign to engage the other 90 percent in what election prognosticators believe will be a close, hard-fought race.

Behind The Story

Type: News

News: Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.

Foley is the former managing editor of The Current and a partner in foleymyers communications in Northampton, Massachusetts.

3 replies on “Maloney Wins Big in Democratic Primary”

  1. I am so happy that the primary is over! The Democratic party fielded very attactive candidates for a lively race. I sense the coming election will be even more so. Our home received at least 14 calls from just one candidate, real live people most of the time.

    I was pleased to hear from our former president during dinner one evening but, even after asking not to be called, the calls continued. After voting and spending the day away from the house I returned to the house with the phone ringing, reminding me to vote. Enough already! I say to all the candidates in the general election, “Stop harassing us by phone!”

  2. Good for Mr. Maloney….Congratulations! I look forward to voting for him in November. I’ll assume for the moment, that Mr. Maloney is against the re-licensing of Entergy’s Indian Point Nuclear Facility. Can anyone help me with this? I could not make the recent debate at the North Highlands Firehouse, as I was at Town Hall, with many of my good Philipstown neighbors, protesting a local real estate corp. that was seeking to operate an East Mountain Soil Mine. They were, in fact, making the argument for the granting of a “special permit” from the Philipstown Zoning Board of Appeals. I cannot even fathom Ms. Hayworth being re-elected. But then again, with entities like Entergy as the wind in her political sails, ya just never know!

  3. Joel, the primary winner had to harass. Look at the paltry voter turnout. Maloney gets a bit over 7,000 votes. Is that even 10 percent of the Dems registered in the district? He must have spent fifty bucks a vote! I will work for and vote for Maloney, but again, the candidate with the most money got in.

    The money of course is spent to generate those Bill Clinton robocalls as an effort to fight all the disgraceful abandonment of our right to vote. I don’t mind all the calls knowing someone is at least trying to counter the apathy.

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