Mondaire Jones

Mondaire Jones (born May 18, 1987) is an American attorney and politician from the state of New York. He is the Democratic nominee for New York's 17th congressional district in the 2020 election.

Mondaire Jones
Personal details
Born (1987-05-18) May 18, 1987[1]
Nyack, New York, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
EducationStanford University (BA)
Harvard University (JD)
WebsiteCampaign website

Early life and education

Jones was born in Nyack, New York, and grew up in Spring Valley, New York, where he was raised by a single mother.[2] After his mother became ill, Jones lived with his grandparents, who worked multiple jobs to support him.[3][4] He graduated from public schools in the East Ramapo Central School District.[5] He earned his bachelor's degree from Stanford University in 2009 and his Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 2013.[6][7]

Career

Jones worked in the United States Department of Justice during the presidency of Barack Obama.[8][9] He also worked for Davis Polk & Wardwell, as a law clerk for Andrew L. Carter Jr. of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York,[10] and for the Westchester County law department.[11][12] Jones also provided pro bono legal aid through The Legal Aid Society.[13]

Jones announced his candidacy for the Democratic primary to represent New York's 17th congressional district in the 2020 elections against incumbent Representative Nita Lowey. Lowey later announced that she would not seek re-election.[12][14] He advocated for Medicare for All, the Green New Deal, and police reform.[15][10]

In an eight-way race, Jones defeated attorney Adam Schleifer, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Evelyn Farkas, and state senator David Carlucci, among others, with 42% of the vote.[16] The Associated Press called the race for Jones on July 14, 2020, three weeks after the primary, stating that Jones's current lead with the number of absentee ballots already counted was insurmountable by his opponents. Since New York's 17th congressional district is overwhelmingly Democratic, Jones is considered the presumptive Representative-Elect.[17]

Personal life

Jones came out as gay when he was 24.[8][9] He is a member of the First Baptist Church of Spring Valley.[18]

Electoral history
New York's 17th Congressional District, 2020 Democratic Primary[19]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Mondaire Jones 32,794 41.91%
Democratic Adam Schleifer 12,732 16.27%
Democratic Evelyn Farkas 12,210 15.60%
Democratic David Carlucci 8,648 11.05%
Democratic David Buchwald 6,673 8.53%
Democratic Asha Castleberry-Hernandez 2,062 2.64%
Democratic Allison Fine 1,588 2.03%
Democratic Catherine Parker 1,539 1.97%
Total votes 78,246 100%
New York's 17th Congressional District, 2020 General Election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Mondaire Jones
Working Families Mondaire Jones
Total Mondaire Jones
Republican Maureen McArdle Schulman
Conservative Yehudis Gottesfeld
SAM Michael Parietti
Total votes 100%

Awards and honors

In June 2020, in honor of the 50th anniversary of the first LGBTQ Pride parade, Queerty named him among the fifty heroes “leading the nation toward equality, acceptance, and dignity for all people”.[20][21]

References
  1. @MondaireJones (May 18, 2020). "Today's my 33rd birthday and all I want is #MedicareForAll, a #GreenNewDeal, #StudentDebtForgiveness, and a country that values working people over corporate profits" (Tweet). Retrieved July 24, 2020 – via Twitter.
  2. Woodson, A. J. (December 23, 2019). "Mondaire Jones Interview". Black Westchester Magazine. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  3. Jones, Mondaire (November 24, 2019). "Why I'm Running for Congress". Medium. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  4. Ratan, Kira (December 18, 2019). "For Mondaire Jones, politics is personal". Tower. The Masters School. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  5. Lieberman, Steve. "Nita Lowey faces challenger from the left: Mondaire Jones, progressive Democrat, announces 2020 run". The Journal News. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  6. Failla, Zak (June 24, 2020). "Mondaire Jones Holds Big Lead In Race To Take Over Nita Lowey's Congressional Seat". White Plains Daily Voice. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  7. Lach, Eric (June 24, 2020). "Campaigning During the Coronavirus: The Race for New York's Seventeenth Congressional District". The New Yorker. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  8. Ruiz, Michelle (June 24, 2020). "Ritchie Torres and Mondaire Jones Are Poised to Make LGBTQ+ History in Congress". Vogue. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  9. Coltin, Jeff (October 7, 2019). "The black, gay Harvard grad taking on Nita Lowey". City & State. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  10. Solender, Andrew (November 1, 2019). "Can Mondaire Jones Make History In NY17?". The River. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  11. Carlisle, Madeleine (June 24, 2020). "Two Democratic Candidates Poised To Become the First Openly Gay Black Congressmen". Time. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  12. Kassel, Matthew (May 13, 2020). "From Washington to Westchester: the Obama Justice Department fellow running for Lowey's seat". Jewish Insider. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  13. "Jones, Mondaire". LGBTQ Victory Fund. 2020. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  14. Kassel, Matthew (June 25, 2020). "Mondaire Jones has big plans and big shoes to fill in Congress". Jewish Insider. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  15. Deconstructed (June 25, 2020). "Deconstructed Podcast: The Rise of the Left (With Mondaire Jones)". The Intercept. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  16. "New York Primary Election Results: 17th Congressional District". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  17. Rubinstein, Dana (July 14, 2020). "Mondaire Jones Rides Insurgent Wave to a House Primary Win in N.Y." Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  18. "Meet Mondaire Jones". Mondaire for Congress. 2020. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  19. "New York State Unofficial Election Night Results". New York State Board of Elections. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  20. "Queerty Pride50 2020 Honorees". Queerty. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  21. Editors (July 2, 2020). "9 queer political figures creating a more perfect union this election year". Queerty. Retrieved July 28, 2020.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
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