The 17th district encompasses the
lower Hudson Valley taking in
Rockland County as well as northwestern and central
Westchester County. The incumbent was Democrat
Nita Lowey, who was re-elected with 88.0% of the vote in 2018, without major-party opposition.
Democratic primary Candidates Declared •
David Buchwald, state assemblyman •
David Carlucci, state senator • Asha Castleberry-Hernandez, U.S. Army veteran and national security expert •
Evelyn Farkas, former
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia • Allison Fine, former chairwoman of
NARAL •
Mondaire Jones, attorney • Adam Schleifer, former federal prosecutor for
Operation Varsity Blues Withdrawn • Catherine Borgia, Westchester County legislator
(endorsed Buchwald) • Duane Jackson,
Buchanan trustee and candidate for
New York's 18th congressional district in
2012 • David Katz, debt-recovery attorney
(endorsed Jones) • Catherine Parker, Westchester County legislator
(endorsed Jones) (remained on ballot) • Jo-Anna Rodriguez-Wheeler, small business owner
Declined •
Tom Abinanti, state assemblyman (running for re-election) •
Chelsea Clinton, global health advocate and member of the
Clinton family •
Andrew Cuomo,
Governor of New York •
George Latimer,
Westchester County executive and former state senator (endorsed Buchwald) •
Nita Lowey, incumbent U.S. representative On October 10, Lowey announced that she was retiring in a surprise announcement. Following Lowey's retirement, several Democratic candidates announced campaigns for the seat. In the resulting primary, four frontrunners emerged; Jones,
Evelyn Farkas, a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense,
David Carlucci, a state senator and former member of the
Independent Democratic Conference (IDC), and Adam Schleifer, a former federal prosecutor who used his considerable personal wealth to self-finance his campaign. In the ensuing campaign, Carlucci attacked the other three main candidates, accusing them of being
carpetbaggers, while Jones also attacked the other major candidates, accusing them of being more akin to Republicans than Democrats.
Pro-choice groups devoted money and resources to opposing his bid, as during his period in the state senate he had helped block pro-abortion legislation. By January 2020, Schleifer was leading the field in fundraising, having raised $1 million largely through self-financing. Schleifer attracted personal criticism for self-financing rather than campaigning through donations, and Farkas also criticised him for refusing to divest from stocks while campaigning. Farkas campaign spokesperson Wellesley Daniels rejected the accusations, calling them "disgusting".
Debates Endorsements State officials •
Sandy Galef, New York State Assemblymember (District 95) since 1993 •
Daniel J. O'Donnell, New York State Assemblymember (District 69) since 2003 •
J. Gary Pretlow, New York State Assemblymember (District 89) since 1993
Local officials •
George Latimer, Westchester County Executive
Labor unions •
Communication Workers of America (District 1, Local 1103, and Local 1107)
Labor unions •
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 363
Individuals •
Dana J.H. Pittard, retired
major general; former
Joint Force Land Component Commander-Iraq •
Carl Levin, former U.S. senator from Michigan (1979–2015)
U.S. representatives •
Julia Brownley, U.S. representative (CA-26) since 2013 •
Veronica Escobar, U.S. representative (TX-16) since 2019 •
Lois Frankel, U.S. representative (FL-21) since 2013 •
Annie Kuster, U.S. representative (NH-2) since 2013 •
Seth Moulton, U.S. representative (MA-6) since 2015, former 2020 presidential candidate •
Donna Shalala, U.S. representative (FL-27) (2019–2021), former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (1993–2001) •
Eric Swalwell, U.S. representative (CA-15) since 2013, former 2020 presidential candidate
State elected officials •
Thomas Duane, former New York state senator (District 29) (1999 to 2012)
Party officials •
Denis McDonough, Chief of Staff to
Barack Obama Individuals •
Jane Alexander, author, actress, and former director of the
National Endowment for the Arts •
Ezekiel Emanuel, Obama Special Advisor for Health Policy, Chair of the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy at the University of Pennsylvania •
Daniel B. Shapiro, former U.S., Ambassador to Israel (2011–2017)
Organizations •
Council for a Livable World State elected officials •
Suzi Oppenheimer, former New York state senator (1985–2012)
Local elected officials •
Ruth Messinger, former Manhattan Borough President (1990–1997)
Individuals •
Cheryl Contee, Chair of Netroots Nation
Organizations •
NARAL Pro-Choice America U.S. senators •
Bernie Sanders, U.S. senator from Vermont since 2007 •
Elizabeth Warren, U.S. senator from Massachusetts since 2013
U.S. representatives •
David Cicilline, U.S. representative (RI-1) since 2011 •
Pramila Jayapal, U.S. representative (WA-7) since 2017 •
Ro Khanna, U.S. representative (CA-17) since 2017 •
Barbara Lee, U.S. representative from California since 1998 •
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, U.S. representative (NY-14) since 2019 •
Mark Pocan, U.S. representative (WI-2) since 2013
Organizations •
Black Economic Alliance •
Democracy for America • Empire State
Indivisible •
LGBTQ Victory Fund •
New York Communities for Change Newspapers and media •
Daily Kos •
Steve Israel, former U.S. representative (NY-2, NY-3) (2001–17)
Local elected officials •
Christine Quinn, former Speaker of the
New York City Council • Maureen McArdle-Schulman, former
FDNY firefighter
Withdrawn • Josh Eisen, businessman
(ran as an independent) Declined •
Rob Astorino, former
Westchester County Executive, 2014 nominee for
governor of New York • Ron Belmont, mayor of
Harrison • Leigh McHugh,
Rockland County Legislator
Campaign Originally, businessman Josh Eisen was considered the Republican frontrunner, as he had posted relatively strong fundraising numbers. However, his campaign imploded when allegations were revealed that he had threatened former employees, and that while embroiled in a legal dispute he had told his opponents' wife that she would "bathe in the warm semen of
Mengele" and had also written sexual polemics about this same opponents' daughter. Eisen's withdrawal paved the way for two other candidates, retired firefighter Maureen McArdle-Schulman and chemical engineer Yehudis Gottesfeld, to compete for the nomination.
Organizations •
Westchester County Republican Party Primary results General election Predictions Results ==District 18==