The fallout of Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, D-N.Y., losing his general-election battle to Republican challenger Michael Lawler extends deeper than two days.
It actually goes back 42 years.
On Thursday, Maloney — who became the first Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chair since 1980 to lose a House general election (Jim Corman was the last) — said that he "let people down" in his District 17 defeat to Lawler, currently a New York assemblyman.
While speaking on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" program, Maloney expressed disappointment in failing to secure the Democrat majority in the New York House chamber.
"The majority could have been won, and it was our inability to speak to voters in suburban New York City," said Maloney.
According to reports, the Republican Party "spent millions of dollars" on Lawler's campaign against Maloney — an early warning sign to the incumbent's vulnerability in a newly redrawn New York district.
On Newsmax Thursday, Lawler, while appearing on "National Report," said, "I think it was a confluence of events that led to [Maloney's] defeat."
"Ultimately, a Democrat-appointed court of appeals threw out the maps and ruled them unconstitutional," added Lawler.
The House Republicans fared well in the New York races, picking up six seats in the congressional chamber.
Within this success, the Republicans carried all four House races on Long Island.
In his MSNBC interview, Maloney acknowledged that he should get the majority of blame for New York falling short of expectations in the congressional races.
Maloney said he doesn't think his political legacy should be "carved in marble" after losing to Lawler.
Maloney also intends to fight for the lingering House races in which ballots are still being counted.
"[Democrats] have easily two dozen races [nationally] where it still really matters that we work at this, and we are not going to let [Republicans] steal a single seat," added Maloney.
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