NEW YORK CITY — Longtime congresswoman Rep. Carolyn Maloney will face off against challenger Pete Lindner in the Democratic primary for her seat on Tuesday.
Lindner, a statistical analyst, hopes to unseat Maloney from her seat representing District 12, which covers most of the East Side of Manhattan and Roosevelt Island, Astoria, Long Island City, Greenpoint and parts of Woodside.
►See Also: Everything You Need To Know About Tuesday's Primary
Lindner, 66, who has lived in Union Square for 26 years, is focusing his platform on job creation in high-crime areas and gun safety measures, including a ban on assault weapons and legislation requiring so-called “smart guns,” which would require owner verification in order to be usable.
“I want to make it safe to walk around by banning assault weapons,” he said. “And I want to have smart weapons so that if a gun is stolen it’s more expensive to open it.”
Maloney has been in Congress since 1992, first representing the 14th District before the district was redrawn in 2013 and put her in charge of the 12th District, formerly the territory of current Seventh District congresswoman Rep. Nydia Velazquez.
Maloney in recent days has been tweeting about everything from Pride, to gun legislation, to Supreme Court decisions, with nary a mention of the upcoming primary. But according to spokeswoman Grace Harman, Maloney is looking forward to proving her record at the ballot box.
"Congresswoman Maloney takes every election seriously," Harman said in an email. "She's proud to run on her strong record of delivering for New York and will keep fighting every day she's in Congress to improve our great city."
Lindner for his part has blasted Maloney in postings on his campaign website, including one where he criticizes her for refusing to debate with him.
"She won't debate me because she's afraid," he told DNAinfo.
The winner of the primary will be the democratic nominee in the Nov. 8 general election.
