Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Rangel, NY Times Agree: Maloney Should Run For Senate If She Wants
By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 4, 2009
Modified Jul 4, 2009
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 4, 2009
Modified Jul 4, 2009
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
With Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan) looking to challenge Senator Kirsten Gillibrand in the 2010 Democratic Senate primary, much is being made of Maloney is doing so much to the dismay of the Obama administration. But Rep. Charles Rangel thinks President Obama should stay out of race—and the NY Times says the same in an editorial!
President Obama called Rep. Steve Israel (D-Long Island) to tell him not to run and Vice President Joe Biden called Maloney essentially asking the same. Rangel told the Daily News, "I really cannot say anything negative about a senior member who wants to run and whose polls, at this point in time, appear to be in her favor... Nobody can challenge that she's not a hardworking member of Congress." He hasn't endorsed either Maloney or Gillibrand, but added, "I really don't understand why President Obama got involved in our primary. I don't want to use the word wrong, but it doesn't seem like the astute political thing to do."
The NY Times editorial is pretty pointed:
It was hard to know what standards of qualification Mr. Paterson applied when he elevated Ms. Gillibrand. It’s just as hard to fathom why President Obama and his team are now trying to stop other Democrats from challenging the appointed senator.
If that sounds heavy-handed and undemocratic, it is. An election should offer choices.
Senator Gillibrand is a personable and energetic politician and a phenomenal fund-raiser. But we’re still figuring out how much credence to place in her overnight conversion to more progressive stands on issues such as gun control and immigration...
At this point, we don’t think Mr. Obama or anyone else should be trying to discourage candidates from running for office. That should be especially true of President Obama’s team. Remember how people tried to dissuade him from running against the unstoppable Senator Clinton in 2008?
A June Quinnipiac poll showed that Maloney with 27% to Gillibrand's 23%, but 44% were undecided. At the time, Quinnipiac's Maurice Carroll said, "The New York cliche, that a liberal wins a Democratic primary, looks like it holds true in this poll. Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, a city liberal, edges Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, an upstate moderate, but almost half are undecided. They each beat Congressman Peter King, a Long Island Republican, by about the same."
Tagged
carolyn maloney
election 2010
kirsten gillibrand
president obama
senate
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
A reliably Republican part of NJ, until ICE came to town
The Trump administration’s plan to convert a warehouse in Roxbury into an ICE detention center has upended local politics ahead of the midterm elections.
By
Mike Hayes
Published Oct 20, 2026 at 6:30 a.m. ET
NYC school integration debate exposes tensions between Black parents and Mamdani
Some see a blind spot when it comes to the representation of Black New Yorkers in Mamdani's administration and agenda.
By
Elizabeth Kim
News
NYC school integration debate exposes tensions between Black parents and Mamdani
Some see a blind spot when it comes to the representation of Black New Yorkers in Mamdani's administration and agenda.
By
Elizabeth Kim
Queens man charged with hate crime at Jewish-owned bagel shop displaying Israeli flags
By
Giulia Heyward
MTA train yards are in such bad shape plants are growing out of the roof, watchdog says
By
Stephen Nessen
High-ranking NYC officials to testify in ex-buildings boss Eric Ulrich's corruption trial
By
David Brand
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .