Politics Southern Brooklyn

It’s official: GOP’s Malliotakis ousts Democrat Rose in NYC

December 2, 2020 Associated Press and Raanan Geberer Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Assemblymember Nicole Malliotakis opened a big lead over Rose on Election Day. Photo: Mark Lennihan/AP
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A final tally of absentee ballots has confirmed that Republican Nicole Malliotakis has defeated U.S. Rep. Max Rose, denying the Democrat a second term representing one of the few conservative-leaning parts of New York City.

Malliotakis, a New York State Assembly member, opened a big lead over Rose on Election Day in a district that includes all of Staten Island and part of Brooklyn.

She declared victory on Nov. 3 and Rose conceded the race Nov. 12, but The Associated Press didn’t call the race until Tuesday because New York City’s Board of Elections refused for weeks to publicly release information about its count of a large number of absentee ballots.

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With her victory, Malliotakis will become the only Republican in New York City’s congressional delegation, although there were two in recent memory from that same district — Dan Donovan and Michael Grimm.

U.S. Rep. Max Rose conceded the race on Nov. 12. Photo: Kathy Willens/AP

The race between Malliotakis and Rose, an Army combat veteran, played out over a year that saw violent clashes between protesters and police officers in New York City, and several months in which shootings in some parts of the city soared.

When Malliotakis declared victory in November, she said, “This race was about a nation on the verge of losing its way and a political party that seems intent on leading us on a destructive path towards socialism. And members of that party, with names like Pelosi, Schiff, Nadler, AOC, and yes, Max Rose, who were all too happy to needlessly attempt to impeach our president, Donald Trump, and do or say anything to defeat him and our Republican Party.”

In February, Malliotakis was endorsed by President Donald Trump. In a year when Trump’s popularity began to slip, Malliotakis said, “I voted for him in 2016. I am going to vote for him again. Am I going to agree with him all the time? Absolutely not. I am my own person.”

Malliotakis ran on a pro-law enforcement platform and attacked Rose for attending a Black Lives Matter protest after the death of George Floyd in which some protesters chanted, “Defund the Police.” Rose defended his attendance at the rally and stressed that he didn’t agree with all of the position taken by the protesters.

To distance himself from Mayor Bill de Blasio, who is particularly unpopular on Staten Island, Rose created an ad calling his fellow Democrat the “worst mayor ever.” Malliotakis was a candidate for mayor against de Blasio in 2017.

The daughter of a Cuban immigrant mother and a Greek immigrant father, Malliotakis grew up on Staten Island.

Among her positions on local issues have been a plan to reopen the former Victory Hospital in Bay Ridge, opposition to congestion pricing, advocacy to help the mentally ill, opposition to de Blasio’s plan to close Rikers Island and open smaller jails in the boroughs, and approval of the MTA’s plan to reinstate express bus service to Bay Ridge and Staten Island.


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