Mondaire Jones Wins Primary, Launches Comeback Bid
Former U.S. Rep. Mondaire Jones, a gay man, got one step closer to returning to Congress after winning his party's nomination on June 25.
Former U.S. Congressman Mondaire Jones won his Democratic primary, setting him up for a general election showdown against Republican U.S. Rep. Dan Lawler in a district covering New York City’s northern suburbs and exurbs in the Hudson Valley.
Jones, who is gay, was first elected to Congress in 2020. In 2022, he was the unfortunate victim of redistricting when a New York court kowtowed to Republicans’ objections over a Democratic-drawn congressional map, declaring it unconstitutional and appointing a “Special Master” to draw “fairer” districts.
Under the new lines, Jones was placed in the same district as U.S. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, a fellow Democrat, who is also gay. The redrawn lines for the new 17th Congressional District were poised to set up a potentially contentious battle between the two Congressmen.
Jones ultimately chose to enter the race for the state’s open 10th Congressional District, based in Manhattan and Brooklyn. He lost that primary to Dan Goldman, an ex-U.S. attorney who prosecuted the first impeachment case against Donald Trump. Goldman went on to win the general election.
Last year, Jones announced his intention to challenge Dan Lawler for the 17th District seat in the general election.
Both men won their respective primaries on Tuesday, June 25, setting up a marquee matchup in November.
If all sitting LGBTQ members of Congress are re-elected in 2024, a victory by Jones would swell those ranks to ten members — however, U.S. Reps. Angie Craig (D-Minn.), Sharice Davids (D-Kansas), Eric Sorensen (D-Ill.) and Chris Pappas (D-N.H.), will likely face tough races this fall.
Jones’s fate may depend on President Joe Biden’s margin of victory in New York State. If Biden barely edges former President Donald Trump in the state, many down-ticket races will likely favor Republicans.
Tuesday’s primaries also saw out gay U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) win his party’s nomination in a heavily Democratic district.
In Colorado, which also held its primaries on Tuesday, Republicans nominated an openly gay man, Valdamar Archuleta, for the state’s 1st Congressional District race, which covers Denver and its surrounding environs.
Meanwhile, Colorado GOP Chairman Dave Williams, a fierce opponent of same-sex marriage who was linked to a recent email urging Republicans to “burn all the Pride flags,” lost his bid for the state’s 5th Congressional District, based in Colorado Springs, the site of the Club Q shooting that killed five patrons of a popular LGBTQ nightlife venue.
Unfortunately for LGBTQ people and their allies, one of Congress’s loudest anti-LGBTQ voices, Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, will be returning to Washington next January after winning her primary for the deep-red 4th Congressional District, which she sought to run in after barely winning in 2022 in the state’s 3rd Congressional District, despite its Republican leanings.
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