One of the most watched races in the 2024 election just took another turn. On Tuesday, November 28th, Congressional Candidate Liz Whitmer Gereghty called Mondaire Jones to notify him that she would be suspending her campaign and endorsing him in the race to represent New York’s 17th Congressional District, a decision that came nearly seven months after she launched her bid.
“I remain committed to doing everything possible to elect Democrats across the board in 2024, especially here in NY-17. Uniting our party and focusing our resources on taking back the House is critical to fighting back against the radical extremism plaguing our politics. In that spirit, I endorse Mondaire Jones’ campaign for Congress,” Liz Whitmer Gereghty said.
Gereghty’s decision to end her campaign avoids a messy and potentially expensive primary in the Hudson Valley, even though she received endorsements from groups including EMILY’s List and Elect Democratic Women.
Mondaire released a statement confirming the news that Gereghty called him to inform him she was suspending her campaign.
“Last night, Liz Whitmer Gereghty called to tell me she is suspending her campaign. I am honored to announce that she is endorsing me and throwing her full support behind my effort to defeat Mike Lawler, retake the House majority, and save American democracy from the threats posed by MAGA extremism,” former congressman Mondaire Jones said. “I am grateful for Liz’s contributions on the Katonah-Lewisboro school board and applaud her for stepping up to be a candidate in this important race. Over the next year, I look forward to working together to once again give the Lower Hudson Valley the representation it deserves in Congress.”
In 2022, CD-17 was one of the New York Congressional seats that flipped red and helped the Republicans gain a narrow majority in the House of Representatives. Former DCCC Chair Sean Patrick-Maloney decided to run in CD-17 instead of defending his seat in CD-18 after redistricting, forcing Jones to run in the state’s 10th Congressional District to avoid challenging Maloney. As a result, both Democrats lost and Republican Mike Lawler won the CD-17 seat. Now Mondaire is running to reclaim his seat back for the Democrats. Democrats are heavily targeting many of those incumbents as they look to recapture control of the lower chamber.
Mondaire Jones is building a grassroots campaign to defeat Mike Lawler in New York’s 17th Congressional District. In his first quarter in the race, he raised $1.15 million and has earned the support of nearly 150 in-district and national leaders and organizations, including Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, U.S. Representative Pat Ryan (D-NY), the Congressional Black Caucus PAC, the Equality PAC, the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC, the Westchester County Democratic Committee, and the Rockland County Democratic Committee.
Mondaire Jones, who made history as the nation’s first openly gay Black member of Congress, was among a group including the Human Rights Campaign, LGBTQ Victory Fund, and Equality PAC, who strongly condemned Mike Lawler for his support Mike Johnson, a right-wing extremist as Speaker of the House.
And then there were two: Jones has to get past former Bedford Supervisor MaryAnn Carr in the Democratic primary to get a showdown with Lawler in the general election. Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, and Sabato’s Crystal Ball all rate the New York congressional race as a “toss-up.”
