Brooklyn GOP unanimously endorses Malliotakis for Congress

SOUTH BROOKLYN — Five-term Assemblymember Nicole Malliotakis has her party solidly behind her in her bid to unseat first-term U.S. Rep. Max Rose.

Malliotakis, the last standing Republican lawmaker in Brooklyn, whose 64^th Assembly District includes portions of Staten Island and Bay Ridge, received a unanimous endorsement from the Brooklyn GOP Party Executive Committee and its Chair Ted Ghorra on Thursday, Jan. 9. 

“Nicole Malliotakis is the daughter of immigrants and understands the American Dream because she’s lived it,” said Ghorra. “She’s a seasoned campaigner and fundraiser who has the skills and the resources needed to win this race.”

Malliotakis’ father is an immigrant from Greece and her mother is a Cuban exile of the Castro dictatorship. She was the first Hispanic-American elected from Richmond County. She graduated from Wagner College and has served in the Assembly since 2011.

Ghorra called Malliotakis a fighter “who has the courage to take on Max Rose and his colleagues, Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, Ilhan Omar and the misguided socialist push from the far left.”

“Since his election, Max Rose has clearly shown us where he stands,” said Malliotakis. “He’s voted with Nancy Pelosi over 95 percent of the time and wasted our time and tax dollars on impeaching President Trump instead of focusing on issues that matter to voters, such as passing the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement, improving healthcare and bringing much needed infrastructure funding to fix our subways.”

The 11th Congressional District seat was formerly held by another Republican, Dan Donovan; he won the seat in a special election after the resignation of its previous holder, former Rep. Michael Grimm, also a member of the GOP, who stepped down after pleading guilty to tax fraud. Donovan lost the seat to Democrat Rose in November, 2018. The 11th Congressional District includes parts of Southern Brooklyn and all of Staten Island.

Rose was quick to respond to news of the Brooklyn GOP’s endorsement of Malliotakis. “While I have a record of accomplishment including passing laws to stop the flow of Chinese fentanyl into our communities, permanently fund the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund, increase counterterrorism funding and decrease congestion — the former lobbyist Nicole Malliotakis has spent 10 years in Albany office-shopping with nothing to show for it,” Rose told this paper.

Malliotakis has also been endorsed by the executive committee of the Staten Island Republican Party, giving her support on both sides of the Verrazzano. And on Monday, Jan. 13, Malliotakis was jointly endorsed by the Brooklyn and Staten Island Conservative Parties.

She also announced this week that in 2019 her congressional campaign had raised over $1,000,000 in her effort to defeat Rose.