Progressive to take on Maloney in 2022

A women’s self-defense group founder from Queens announced Wednesday that she’s putting up a fight against longtime New York Rep. Carolyn Maloney in next year’s Democratic primary — and she’s entering the combative race with backing from an influential progressive group.

Rana Abdelhamid, who launched the Women’s Initiative for Self Empowerment in 2010 after a man tried to rip off her hijab on a New York street, said in a campaign announcement that she’s challenging Maloney to “bring a new generation of leadership” to the 14-term congresswoman’s Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn-spanning district.

“As someone who has personally confronted inequality and displacement, I know that 28 years of Carolyn Maloney’s failed leadership has left too many New Yorkers behind,” said Abdelhamid, a 27-year-old member of the Democratic Socialists of America who grew up in Astoria. “As the pandemic has exacerbated inequities in our communities, this district deserves a representative who fights for renters instead of developers, and small shops instead of big banks.”

In a boost for her budding primary bid, Justice Democrats — the grassroots group that engineered the upset elections of New York Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jamaal Bowman — said it is all-in on Abdelhamid.

“As someone who has fought tirelessly for her community against racism and economic insecurity, we’re proud to support Rana Abdelhamid,” said Alexandra Rojas, the executive director of Justice Democrats. “Voters and activists all across the district have made clear that they want to help usher in a new generation of leadership into the Democratic Party free of corporate money and dedicated to uplifting all of our communities.”

Maloney, who was first elected to Congress in 1992, announced last month she would seek reelection in 2022, smacking down rumors that she was considering retirement.

Jim Duffy, a spokesman for Maloney’s campaign, said the 75-year-old lawmaker has “a lot on her plate” in Congress and declined to respond to Abdelhamid’s fiery remarks.

“Carolyn is intent on running and when the time comes we can explain to people exactly what her record is. She is running and she intends to win,” Duffy said.

Maloney, who chairs the House Oversight Committee, is likely to face a tough battle to keep her seat.

She was reelected in 2020 by a razor-thin margin of less than 3,500 votes after court battles and a lengthy count of mail-in ballots delayed results for months.

Suraj Patel, Maloney’s top competitor in 2020, has said he plans to challenge the congresswoman again next year.

In her 2022 announcement, Abdelhamid zeroed in on Maloney’s reliance on corporate political donations and suggested it makes her an unfit representative for her district, which cover most of Manhattan’s East Side and a chunk of waterfront neighborhoods in western Queens and Brooklyn.