Former congressman and current congressional hopeful Mondaire Jones (D., N.Y.) is in a war of words with local union leaders who backed his Republican opponent, accusing them of "turning their backs on pro-labor candidates." In turn, one of the leaders called Jones a "whining district-flopping no-show."
Jones is running against Rep. Mike Lawler (R., N.Y.), who has won support from national and local unions representing boilermakers, electrical workers, plumbers, and steamfitters, a reversal from 2022 when they backed Lawler's Democratic opponent. He’s also scored tens of thousands of dollars more in union donations than Jones. On Wednesday, Lawler secured an endorsement from the Transport Workers Union of America (TWU), with another expected from the Uniformed Fire Officers Association.
"The endorsement of Mike Lawler by some of these building and trades unions cannot possibly be based on policy," Jones told the New York Times. He accused some unions of "turning their backs on pro-labor candidates."
TWU head and New York native John Samuelsen said he was frustrated with the Democrats, who appeared to be taking union support for granted. Hours after Jones’s comments were published, Samuelsen attacked the Democrat while endorsing Lawler.
"@RepMikeLawler has steadfastly supported TWU members both in NYS and across the USA, in transit, rail and air," he posted on X after the congressman touted his endorsement from the 150,000-member TWU. "While Mondaire Jones has been a whining district-flopping no-show, Lawler has been workmanlike in advancing transport sector livelihoods."
Jones lost his 2022 primary after transplanting himself out of the Lower Hudson Valley and into Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan. Samuelsen told the Times Jones hadn’t effectively pursued an endorsement.
"Mondaire Jones wouldn’t recognize me if he bumped into me at a fund-raiser," he said. "He literally bumped into me at a Nancy Pelosi event at the Democratic convention, and he didn’t know who I was."
Jones retorted that Samuelsen’s explanation only "proves my point that their endorsement of Mike Lawler is not based on his pro-labor record, but rather something other than what their endorsement is supposed to be about."
He also argued that part of the reason he missed out on endorsements was because national unions have "a better understanding of which candidates are pro-labor and which candidates are anti-labor." But Lawler’s endorsements include local and national unions alike. He even scored an endorsement from the local Teamsters chapter, and the national arm’s head, Sean O’Brien, gave him a shout-out during the Republican National Convention.
By contrast, the Teamsters Union declined to endorse either presidential candidate. Vice President Kamala Harris has scored endorsements from local chapters, while former president Donald Trump says he has support from rank-and-file members.
Jones has bled support since surviving a short-lived primary challenge from Liz Whitmer Gereghty, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s (D., Mich.) sister. Gereghty dropped out in November after facing criticism for being a New York outsider and courting support from Michigan’s congressional delegation.
In addition to losing out on the unions’ backing, a flurry of progressive groups pulled their financial and organizational resources from Jones. The Working Families Party and the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC both rescinded their endorsements after Jones endorsed George Latimer, Rep. Jamaal Bowman’s successful, pro-Israel Democratic primary challenger.
The former congressman has since distanced himself from Democrats further. As many in the party called for unity after the July assassination attempt on Trump, Jones pushed back.
"I won’t be gaslit into not calling Trump and Vance threats to democracy," Jones wrote. "Trump says he wants to ‘terminate’ the Constitution. Vance says he would’ve overturned the 2020 election."
Jones’s campaign did not return a request for comment.