Defeated House Democrat Leader Asks Supporters to Help Pay Campaign Bills

A Democrat congressman who lost in his reelection bid is asking supporters to help him pay campaign bills.

Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, D-N.Y., chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, sent out a mass email to supporters asking them to help pay campaign bills totaling $8,371, the Mid Hudson News reported.

"I wish I didn't have to ask, but I refuse to accept that only billionaires should run for office," said an email sent to Maloney's backers, the newspaper reported.

"So, I'm humbly asking: Can I count on you to chip in $15 and help me pay off this campaign debt?"

Maloney's campaign email – which included a plea for $5, $25, $50, $100, or "any other amount" – began by saying he was "reaching out to my most loyal supporters with one last request," Mid Hudson News reported

"It takes hundreds of thousands of dollars [to run for office]," Maloney said in the email. "And now, I learned firsthand why it's tough for regular people to run for office."

One Cornell labor relations student posted on social media that Maloney's message was "the most pathetic fundraising email."

"It looks like Sean Patrick Maloney has won one thing this cycle: he now has the honor of having sent the most pathetic fundraising email (yes, this was sent three weeks after Election Day)," Clyde Lederman, Cornell '26, tweeted with an image of the lawmaker's email.

A former top aid to then-President Bill Clinton and Chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) for the midterms, Maloney lost his reelection bid to Republican Mike Lawler.

Maloney became the first DCCC chairman to lose reelection to his House seat since 1980, when Jim Corman, D-Calif., narrowly lost to Republican Bobbi Fiedler in an upset in the Los Angeles area district.

Maloney's House seat was one of several key pickups in New York that helped the GOP win a House majority despite an overall disappointing midterms performance.

Maloney chose to run in the 17th District, which includes his home in Duchess Country. Rep. Mondaire Jones, D-N.Y., a freshman Democrat, was furious at Maloney's decision, choosing to run in a Manhattan district instead, only to be defeated in the primary.

• Rep.-Elect Lawler to Newsmax: Maloney Should Look at His Own Failures
• N.Y. Rep.-Elect Lawler to Newsmax: Voters Focused on Inflation and Crime