In her concession speech Tuesday night, Carolyn Maloney said she believes when women are the decision-makers, “the agenda changes to include things that directly affect our lives, our children and our families.”

She displayed the same zeal for the same priorities three decades ago when she first came to Congress, saying in 1992 that voters wanted “a new focus on women, children and families.”

The now-outgoing chair of the House Oversight Committee had her own children and family alongside her at her Primary Night party in Chelsea, where she learned she had been handily defeated by her colleague Jerry Nadler.


What You Need To Know

  • Maloney, the chair of the the House Oversight Committee, served 30 years on Capitol Hill

  • She listed health care for 9/11 first-responders and the credit card bill of rights as among her accomplishments

  • Maloney again she would fight for the Equal Rights Amendment

Introducing her was her daughter, Virginia Maloney, who had been with her on the campaign trail.

“I’m Carolyn’s youngest daughter,” she said. “And I’m famous for being the first child born to a sitting council member.”

The trailblazing congresswoman reflected on her storied career and those she helped.

“People like our 9/11 first-responders and survivors who now have the health care that they deserve for their illnesses, thanks to my legislation,” she said. “People who are ripped off by big banks, even forced into bankruptcy by unfair, deceptive credit card fees and penalties, thanks to Carolyn Maloney’s credit card bill of rights.”

Maloney had fought to keep her seat in the 12th District with the same persistence and even panache she had in fighting for such measures as the Equal Rights Amendment.

Her 2021 Met Gala dress, for example, served as a statement about the need to ratify the measure.

“And the green with the ERA is the color of the ERA movement,” she said then. “We’ve been working on it since 1972. It’s long past due.”

Maloney, 76, a fixture of the Upper East Side political scene and face of the national Democratic Party, was not available for interview Wednesday by NY1.

But her team said she spent the day reaching out to supporters to thank them.

Preliminary primary results show she was trounced by Nadler, the chair of the House Judiciary Committee.

The race called shortly after polls closed.

Throughout her bid for re-election, Maloney had cited her belief that woman legislators best prioritize women’s issues and that there is still gender discrimination at every turn.

In listing feminist pioneers who came before her, Maloney said, “These heroic women fought sexist systems and misogyny that continues today as we know from my own campaign.”

Despite Maloney’s allegations that Nadler doesn’t have the physical acumen to continue serving, the two had only kind words for each other in acknowledging her loss.

Nadler said in his victory speech on the Upper West Side on Tuesday night, “Carolyn Maloney and I have spent much of our adult lives working together to better both New York and our nation. I speak for everyone in this room tonight when I thank her for her decades of service to this city.”

Maloney said in her remarks of Nadler, “He is a distinguished member of Congress. I share his progressive values and I wish him every success.”