WASHINGTON — Rep. Carolyn Maloney has the goods to mount a major primary challenge against incumbent Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, experts say.
Maloney, who announced yesterday that she has decided to buck the White House and much of the New York Democratic establishment to challenge the upstate Gillibrand, will make a strong candidate because of her experience, fund-raising and New York City base, several consultants said.
“You might think that it was Maloney who is the incumbent,” said Marist College polling director Lee Miringoff.
“Were looking at a potentially wide-open contest,” he added.
Miringoff pointed out that about 70 percent of the Democratic primary vote next year will be coming from the New York City area — where most voters first heard of Gillibrand this winter.
Maloney, 61, who has represented Manhattan’s Upper East Side in the House since 1993, has recently stepped up her criticism of Gillibrand, charging that she has flip-flopped on issues like gun control and immigration.
Mitchell Moss, a professor of urban policy and planning at New York University’s Wagner School, said that Maloney’s experience is likely to resonate with voters.
“In New York, we like our senators to be tough and aggressive, strong and forceful . . . and you can’t move through the ranks here without knowing how to be tough,” Moss said.
A Marist poll released yesterday showed the two candidates in a virtual dead heat, with Maloney leading Gillibrand 38 percent to 37 percent.
The White House has tried to help clear the field for Gillibrand, who was appointed by Gov. Paterson early this year.
President Obama leaned on Long Island Rep. Steve Israel not to run, and he complied.
Vice President Joseph Biden asked Maloney to stay out of the race, but she didn’t agree, the AP reported yesterday.
Maloney political adviser Paul Blank said the candidate is putting together a campaign team and will make her announcement in two weeks.
Republican Rep. Peter King of Long Island, who is considering running for the seat, said he regards Gillibrand as the weaker opponent.
“If I decide to run, from a selfish point of view, I hope that Gillibrand wins the primary,” King told The Post. “I would rather run against Gillibrand than Maloney.”
Former New York Gov. George Pataki is also considering running.
In response to Maloney’s decision, Gillibrand’s staff issued a statement saying she is “entirely focused on her job representing New Yorkers in the US Senate and is working closely with President Obama to fix the economy, create jobs and reform our broken health-care system.”