Super PAC money pouring into Dem congressional primary between NYS Sen. Biaggi and Rep. Patrick Maloney
ALBANY — Super PAC money is flooding into a heated Hudson Valley congressional primary race.
Democratic Bronx State Sen. Alessandra Biaggi is calling on Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney to condemn a swell of outside cash and a “pro-Trump” police-backed Super PAC that recently spent hundreds of thousands in support of the sitting congressman.
The Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York has poured $416,000 into the primary for New York’s 17th Congressional District. Digital ads and mailers funded by the group paint Biaggi as “an anti-police extremist.”
State Sen. Alessandra Biaggi, D-Bronx, speaks to state legislators on Feb. 13, 2019, in Albany, N.Y. (Hans Pennink/)
“Maloney must immediately condemn pro-Trump Super PAC interference in our Democratic primary,” Biaggi said in a statement. “If the Democratic Party wants to rebuild trust with the American people, its leaders must stand up to election interference from pro-Trump organizations.”
In 2020, the Police Benevolent Association endorsed former President Donald Trump for re-election.
Biaggi launched a primary bid against Maloney in May after the Hudson Valley congressman rankled fellow Dems by running for a neighboring seat following the state’s redistricting mess. Maloney, the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, currently represents the 18th Congressional District.
However, he decided to run for the redrawn suburban 17th, which covers parts of Westchester, Putnam and Dutchess Counties, after Dem-crafted maps were ruled unconstitutional and his hometown of Somers was no longer in the 18th.
That led incumbent Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.) to instead take a stab at an open seat in Manhattan. Biaggi then dropped plans to run for a Queens and Nassau County-centric House seat to challenge Maloney. The primary is Aug. 23 and early voting began Saturday.
In recent weeks, outside money has poured into the race as the contest nears. The National Association of Realtors PAC spent $45,000 earlier this month in support of Maloney, according to Federal Election Commission filings.
Another group, called Our Hudson PAC, has also spent just over $100,000 on mailers attacking Biaggi over past tweets critical of police and her “divisive politics.”
The shadowy group, formed just last month, received a contribution of $300,000 from the National Association of Realtors and another $50,000 from a sugar refinery based in Florida, realsludge.com first reported.
Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, D-N.Y., during a meeting of the House Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington on Nov. 21, 2019. (Manuel Balce Ceneta/)
According to filings, the PBA PAC has spent more than $240,000 in TV ad placements.
One PBA-backed ad accuses Biaggi of leaving her Bronx district, which included parts of Riverdale and Throggs Neck, “crime-ridden.”
“In Albany, Biaggi voted to release violent criminals without bail back onto our streets while calling to defund the police who keep us safe,” a voiceover proclaims on one of the digital ads.
In a statement, PBA president Patrick Lynch called Biaggi a “privileged New York City radical who has spent months trying to trick voters from Long Island to the Hudson Valley into giving her a ticket to Washington.”
“She doesn’t care about these communities. She just wants a national platform from which to spread her extreme ideology,” he added. “She has a history of demonizing cops and supporting policies that have made our neighborhoods less safe. Voters in the 17th Congressional District deserve to know who she really is.”
Maloney’s campaign, which hasn’t produced any negative ads about Biaggi directly, pushed back on his opponent’s call to disavow the police union’s flood of cash by pointing to money the progressive Working Families Party spent in support of her candidacy.
“Rep. Maloney is and always has been in favor of getting dark money out of our elections. He helped pass legislation to do so through the House and he is endorsed by End Citizens United,” campaign spokeswoman Mia Ehrenberg said. “The senator seems surprised that police unions were offended by saying they have no souls.
“It is the height of hypocrisy for Alessandra Biaggi to solicit over $100,000 in PAC and dark money support on her behalf, and then attempt to deny others the same right to be heard,” she added.
Maloney also touted a major endorsement this week after former president Bill Clinton, who resides in Westchester with wife and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, publicly backed his bid.
Biaggi, however, is no stranger to unseating incumbent Dems. In 2018, she successfully beat former Sen. Jeff Klein, whose breakaway faction of Dems kept Republicans in charge of the state Senate for years, in a contentious primary.
She also has the backing of progressives, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and the WFP, which switched its endorsement after Biaggi entered the race.
The 36-year-old’s grandfather, Mario Biaggi, was a decorated NYPD officer who went on to serve 10 terms in Congress before resigning in disgrace in 1988 and serving time in prison for a host of corruption crimes.
Whoever wins the contentious primary will likely have to face off against Assemblyman Mike Lawler (R-Pearl River), who is leading a field of five Republicans hoping to head to Washington.
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