Mr. Maloney said that he and other New York Democrats were unable to overcome suburban fears of crime. He also had some harsh words for Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
For Representative Sean Patrick Maloney, the results of this week’s midterm elections were probably more bitter than sweet.
As the head of the Democrats’ campaign committee, Mr. Maloney helped give his party a slim but fighting chance to hold its House majority with hard-fought wins across the country.
But in one of Tuesday night’s most remarkable twists, Mr. Maloney also lost his own race for re-election, as Democrats notched perhaps their most costly underperformance in his home state of New York. In total, Republicans flipped four suburban seats here, a potentially decisive number in their fight for control of Congress.
On Thursday, Mr. Maloney, 56, spoke with The New York Times about why his party defied predictions across the country and struggled closer to home. He said there was “enough blame to go around,” but that he and other Democrats struggled to overcome fears about crime and suburban backlash against Gov. Kathy Hochul, the Democrat at the top of the ticket.
These are edited excerpts from the conversation.
What do you think accounts for the difference between how Democrats performed in battleground states, like Michigan or Virginia, and in New York?
I don’t know the answer to that question. But look, voters in New York have been told by the News Corporation machine, principally The New York Post, that crime is the No. 1 issue. In the suburbs, it certainly had an effect. In my own race, of course, $10 million was spent echoing those themes. But it may not just be that. I don’t know.
What I can tell you is that New York is an outlier. The competitive gubernatorial race was also a factor and probably gave Republicans a reason to turn out. That might not normally be the case when the outcome is a foregone conclusion. I can also tell you that the governor really struggled in the suburbs, and it clearly had an effect on our races as well. I want to be clear: I’m not blaming the governor, it’s just a fact that she was able to make up the difference in the city, but that doesn’t help in suburban districts.
Do you think Gov. Hochul could have done more to energize the Democratic base or close that gap on the crime narrative?
Again, New York is home to the fiercest outlet in the News Corporation fear machine. In fairness to the governor, she and the rest of us have to contend with the hysteria of The New York Post and of Fox News combined. But if you look at her own race, they clearly understood they had to answer the charges and began to do so late.