Changing her political plans, Bronx state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi is no longer looking to replace Rep. Tom Suozzi in his Long Island seat and is instead targeting the Hudson Valley seat influential Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chairman Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney is running for, a campaign spokesperson confirmed to NY1 Monday.
In the days before she announced, Biaggi criticized Maloney in social media posts for running in the 17th Congressional district, currently represented by progressive Rep. Mondaire Jones.
“You should be taking a seat, not running for one,” Biaggi tweeted. “After failing so spectacularly at your only job as DCCC chair—to hold and gain Dem seats—this is weak.”
Jones ultimately decided to avoid a primary with the powerful Democrat responsible for electing a majority in Congress and instead entered the race for the 10th Congressional district in Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn.
The two-term state senator will officially kick off her run on Tuesday, her campaign said. Biaggi initially launched a campaign in the 3rd Congressional district when the maps were drawn by the Democratic-controlled legislature and included parts of the Bronx, Westchester, Queens, Nassau and Suffolk counties.
The New York Times first reported the change of plans Monday evening.
A court-appointed special master who redesigned the congressional maps limited the 3rd district to a small piece of Queens and parts of Nassau and Suffolk counties. The 17th district includes parts of Rockland, Westchester, Putnam, and Dutchess counties. There is no overlap between the new 17th district lines and Biaggi’s state Senate district 34, which includes parts of the Bronx and the Westchester town of Pelham, where she grew up.
Candidates are not legally required to live in the congressional districts they represent.
A campaign spokesperson for Maloney noted in a statement that he has served the Hudson Valley for nearly 10 years.
“He has strong support across the 17th district and looks forward to earning the support of voters once again this fall,” spokesperson Mia Ehrenberg said.
Biaggi was first elected in 2018, defeating the leader of the breakaway Independent Democratic Conference, Jeff Klein, in a primary. Klein and his allies in the state Senate entered a power-sharing agreement with Republicans, keeping Democrats out of control of the chamber for seven years.