Democracy for America endorses Mondaire Jones for Congress in NY-17

Today, Democracy for America (DFA) announced its endorsement of Mondaire Jones in the wide-open race to represent New York’s 17th Congressional district following the retirement of Rep. Nita Lowey.

Jones jumped into the race in July 2019 prior to Lowey’s, who has been in Congress since 1989, decision to retire and, if elected, would be the first Black, openly gay member of Congress. A former Obama administration official who grew up in the NY-17 and most recently served as an attorney in Westchester County’s Law Department, Jones is running as a champion for Medicare for All and the Green New Deal.

Statement from DFA CEO Yvette Simpson on the grassroots progressive group’s endorsement of Jones:

“Mondaire Jones understands first hand the struggles that working families, people of color, and LGBTQ+ people face every single day in our country. As a member of the U.S. House, he’ll be a steadfast champion for big, bold progressive ideas like Medicare for All and a Green New Deal, while breaking barriers with the unique life experience he’ll bring with him to Congress.

“At Democracy for America, we’ve long believed that we must change the kind of leaders running our country if we want our country to change. We’re honored to endorse Mondaire Jones in this race for Congress in New York’s 17th Congressional District because we know he’ll be the kind of fresh, bold, and progressive leader his community and our country needs in Washington in the years ahead.” -- Yvette Simpson, CEO, Democracy for America

Statement from Mondaire Jones on receiving DFA’s 2020 endorsement:

"I am humbled to have the support of Democracy for America in my campaign to represent the people of New York's 17th Congressional District. Growing up poor, black, and gay, raised by a single mom who worked multiple jobs to provide for our family, I never imagined someone like me could make it to the halls of Congress. I'm running for Congress because, for me, policy is personal. If we are going to change Washington, we need to change the kind of people we send there. We need more representatives who understand the lived experiences of millions of Americans who face economic insecurity every day. In my crowded primary, I am the only candidate supporting Medicare for All and student debt forgiveness. I'm prepared to fight for the big, structural solutions we need to make sure working-class people get a fair shot in our economy and that people like me are treated equally under the law." -- Mondaire Jones, Candidate, New York’s 17th Congressional District

DFA is Jones’s first endorsement from a national, multi-issue progressive organization and just the seventh non-incumbent candidate for U.S. House to be endorsed by the grassroots progressive group ahead of 2020. DFA’s other non-incumbent endorsements include Marie Newman (IL-3), Amar Campa-Najjar (CA-50), Dana Balter (NY-24), Adrienne Bell (TX-14), and Gina Ortiz-Jones (TX-23), and J.D. Scholten (IA-04).

DFA has 4,951 members in New York’s 17th Congressional District, 120,834 in the state of New York, and more than one million members nationwide.