Former Rep. Max Rose to run for House seat in 2022 in rematch with Malliotakis

Democratic former US Rep. Max Rose announced Monday that he will run for his former seat in the House of Representatives, which he lost to Republican Nicole Malliotakis in 2020.

“People tell me if I had listened to the polls instead of doing what I thought was right, I would have won,” Rose said in a video announcement launching his bid. “Maybe that’s true, but for me, some things are much more important than elections.”

Rose went on to accuse Republicans of “tearing America apart, just to hold on to power.”

“I’m running because this country, it can be affordable and fair,” he concluded. “Our politics can lift us up rather than tear us down.”

An Army veteran who was wounded in Afghanistan, Rose was elected to Congress in 2018, defeating two-term GOP incumbent Dan Donovan. Two years later, Malliotakis defeated Rose by the same 6.4 percentage-point margin by which Rose had bested Donovan.

Rose is one of just two Democrats to represent the district covering Staten Island and parts of southern Brooklyn since 1993. However, redrawn district boundaries could make the seat a rare pickup opportunity for Democrats as they try to hold onto an eight-seat House majority.

“Staten Islanders rejected Max Rose and the Democrats’ socialist agenda in 2020 and they will do the same in 2022,” National Republican Congressional Committee spokeswoman Camille Gallo said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Malliotakis slammed Rose as a “rubber-stamp for Nancy Pelosi” and accused him of embracing “the most radical elements of his party” and of pushing President Biden’s “disastrous agenda,” such as the massive Build Back Better spending bill and the Afghanistan withdrawal. 

“As a member of Congress, I have spent everyday fighting for my constituents, serving as their voice for commonsense leadership and holding the Biden Administration accountable,” Malliotakis continued. “I am extremely confident that voters will support my record and once again reject Max Rose, Nancy Pelosi and their socialist agenda. Max Rose, you will be a two-time loser.”

Rose becomes the immediate favorite in a contested Democratic primary that includes Democratic socialist Brittany Ramos DeBarros, another Army veteran who served in Afghanistan, and Mike DeCillis, a former police officer and volunteer paramedic who worked at Ground Zero following the Sept. 11 attacks.

Meanwhile, Malliotakis remains in the good graces of former President Donald Trump, despite her vote last month in support of a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill.

Soon after the legislation was passed, Trump slammed the 13 Republicans who voted for the measure at a National Republican Congressional Committee dinner — where Malliotakis was in the audience. 

However, Trump recently told The Post that the two had talked their differences out after Malliotakis placed a call to Mar-a-Lago.

“She spoke to me,” Trump said. “I still support her.”