Patel's 'hair' to stay
Big coif the talk of Dem debate
Suraj Patel joked Friday that viewers of his Democratic primary debate against septuagenarian congress members Jerry Nadler and Carolyn Maloney seemed to zone in on one key issue — his distinctive head of hair.
“The campaign is getting bigger and bigger, and so is the size of my hair,” Patel, 38, told The Post. “My supporters told me to bring the volume during the debate. I also brought the hair!”
Patel’s mountainous coif dominated the stage and screen during Tuesday’s 90minute NY1/WNYC debate against Maloney and Nadler for the Upper East Side-Upper West Side seat.
And the underdog in the race for the 12th Congressional District is now predicting he’s got the Aug. 23 Democratic primary in the bag.
“I’ll win this race by more than a hair. I’m going to win by a whole lot,” Patel quipped.
Patel is even selling campaign T-shirts emphasizing his tresses — playing off the Bernie Sanders “Feel the Bern” shirts that brandished the socialist Vermont’s senator’s shlock of white hair when he ran for president.
“What can I say. I am a South Asian man, a man of color. It’s August. It’s humid. I’m going to let it grow,” Patel said.
His hill of hair may have energized debate performance for the newly drawn district. Patel said he has picked up dozens of new campaign volunteers after both of his retirement-age rivals stumbled at times during the debate.
“Maloney and Nadler combined have 60 years of experience. They’re the ones who made a rookie mistake,” Patel said. “They threw President Biden under the bus.”
Maloney had said during the debate that she doesn’t think Biden will run for re-election, while Nadler, who stumbled often in trying to express his points, even in his opening statement, wouldn’t commit to supporting Biden’s re-election.
Patel, the first candidate asked about Biden, said simply and unequivocally “yes” he supported Biden’s re-election. Footage showed him with a stunned look on his face when Maloney said Biden wouldn’t seek re-election.
“It’s an incredibly dumb mistake,” Patel said.
But a poll released Friday — albeit conducted before Tuesday’s debate — showed Nadler in front.
Nadler led Maloney by 9 percentage points, 40% to 31%, with Patel at 11% and the remaining 17% undecided, the Emerson College Polling-PIX11 survey showed.