Joe Biden reportedly offered an influential Hasidic rabbi in New York “open door” access to his administration in exchange for throwing support behind Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, the chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, who finds himself in a tough election against an insurgent Republican candidate.
“You will have an open door to my administration,” Biden promised Rabbi David Twersky, per the Daily Mail, in a phone call held only days before the November election.
Local media outlet Rockland Daily first reported on the contents of the call, while Jewish Forward reporter Jacob Kornbluh confirmed the call happened on Twitter.
Can confirm the call between POTUS and the rabbis took place, according to sources with knowledge https://t.co/jxEv7XbBys
— Jacob Kornbluh (@jacobkornbluh) October 26, 2022
Maloney’s chances of keeping his seat against Republican challenger Mike Lawler, currently an assemblyman, have been downgraded to “toss up” by most pundits despite Biden carrying the district by 10 points in 2020.
Twersky is the chief rabbi for the Hasidic sect of Jews in Maloney’s district.
The call came ahead of Jill Biden’s trip to New York, where she will hold what the Daily Mail calls a “political finance event” with the embattled Democrat.
President Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, and rabbi David Twersky in 2000
Perhaps evidence that Maloney’s difficult election odds are part of a pattern for Democrats under Biden’s party leadership, The New York Post reports that his race is one of 9 “competitive congressional races” in the state that has progressively leaned more Democrat for generations.
Maloney has previously been in hot water with voters and conservative media outlets after he used over $7,000 in taxpayer and donor funds to employ his husband’s personal trainer, the Post reported.
GOP's Mike Lawler could upset Rep. Sean Maloney in New York 'toss-up' race https://t.co/jEi9YAtob7 pic.twitter.com/49r15pxUNi
— New York Post (@nypost) October 24, 2022
The status of the Democratic Party within The Empire State may be illustrative of their overall chances this November.
Even at the gubernatorial level, despite every New York governor having been a Democrat since 2006, Republican challenger Lee Zeldin has polled competitively against Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul.
