Rep. Maloney expresses optimism about Democrats’ prospects in upcoming midterms

Democratic House Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (NY), who also serves as the Democratic campaign chair, expressed optimism this week about Democrats’ prospects in the upcoming midterms in spite of polls showing it may be a tough election for the left.

Appearing on ABC’s This Week on Sunday, Maloney discussed what he believes are promising races for Democrats around the country, including his own race in New York’s 18th District.

“They’re gonna lose this seat and wish they had the $7 million in other races,” he said, referring to the massive amount Republicans have spent on campaign ads in the district. 

Maloney remains optimistic that Democrats will buck the polling and pull unexpected wins in races up and down the ballot nationwide, pointing to voters’ frustration with MAGA politics.

“What do you say we let the voters speak?” he said. “Because when they have spoken, it turns out they care that this MAGA crowd has taken away 50 years of reproductive freedom, all of the privacy rights we used to take for granted.”

He added, “It turns out they care that we’re making progress on the problems, and we have a plan to bring down your costs to help our seniors, to help our veterans, to bring jobs back to the United States.”

Asked about his opinion on President Biden’s lack of campaigning in swing states and close races, Maloney responded that he does not believe Biden’s backing will make or break the races for Dems.

He pointed out that in previous election cycles, the sitting president campaigning for specific candidates did not fare well for those seeking office, and saying the party has a “different strategy” than in 2010 or 2018.

Maloney also responded to recent ABC polling that showed voters tend to trust Republicans more on issues like gas prices and crime, saying, “[Republicans] have no plan to fix your economy. They have no plan to make our streets safer. We know what they’re going to do to our reproductive freedoms and they look the other way when our democracy, our voting rights, our very Capitol is attacked.”