Mondaire L. Jones (born May 18, 1987) is an American lawyer and politician who was the U.S. representative for from 2021 to 2023. The district included most of central and northwestern Westchester County and all of Rockland County. A member of the Democratic Party, Jones is one of the two first openly gay Black members of Congress in history.
As a member of Congress, Jones was described as a rising star on the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. After redistricting, he sought election in 2022 in New York's 10th district after DCCC chair Sean Patrick Maloney chose to run in . Jones lost the Democratic primary in to attorney Dan Goldman. In July 2023, Jones announced that he would seek election to his former seat in in the following year.
Early life and career
Jones was born in Nyack, New York, and grew up in Spring Valley, New York, where he was raised by a single mother, who worked multiple jobs to support him, and his grandparents. He graduated from public schools in the East Ramapo Central School District. He earned his bachelor's degree from Stanford University in 2009. After graduating from Stanford, Jones worked in the U.S. Department of Justice during the presidency of Barack Obama. He then earned his Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 2013.
After law school, Jones worked as a law clerk for Andrew L. Carter Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. He also worked for Davis Polk & Wardwell for four years, and one year with the Westchester County Law Department.
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
2020
Jones announced his candidacy for the Democratic primary to represent the 17th district against 16-term incumbent Nita Lowey. Three months after he entered the race, Lowey announced that she would not seek reelection. Jones advocated Medicare for All and the Green New Deal. Jones expressed support for defunding the police.
In a crowded eight-way Democratic primary—the real contest in this heavily Democratic district—Jones defeated attorney Adam Schleifer, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Evelyn Farkas, State Senator David Carlucci, and State Assemblyman David Buchwald, among others, winning 42% of the vote. The Associated Press called the race for Jones on July 14, 2020, three weeks after the June 23 primary, the vote tabulation having been delayed because of a large number of absentee ballots due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the general election, Jones faced Republican nominee Maureen McArdle Schulman, a former FDNY firefighter, as well as several third-party candidates. The Associated Press called the race for Jones the day after the election. Along with Ritchie Torres from New York's 15th congressional district, Jones was one of the first gay African Americans elected to the United States House of Representatives.
USPS lawsuit
On August 17, 2020, Jones filed suit in the Southern District of New York against President Donald Trump and Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to reverse recent changes made to the United States Postal Service (USPS) that affected the agency's ability to deliver mail, including absentee ballots. In an opinion piece, Jones said he sued Trump and DeJoy "for violating the Constitution in their attempts to undermine the United States Postal Service and thwart free and fair elections this November."
On September 21, 2020, U.S. District Court Judge Victor Marrero granted an injunction against the USPS that required it to restore overtime and treat all mail-in ballots as First-Class. Jones celebrated the decision.
2022
Following redistricting, the 17th district included the residence of Sean Patrick Maloney, the Democratic incumbent in the neighboring 18th district and chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. According to The Guardian, "Maloney decided to run in New York's 17th congressional district rather than his longtime, more urban, 18th district, even though that meant booting out the newer Mondaire Jones, his fellow Democrat and the incumbent congressman in the 17th district". According to The Hill, Maloney's decision "infuriated Jones and his allies, particularly those in the Congressional Black Caucus, who accused Maloney of putting his own political survival over the interests of the party".
Jones opted not to challenge Maloney in the redrawn 17th district; instead, on May 20, 2022, Jones announced that he would seek election in New York's 10th congressional district. Jones finished third in the Democratic primary in the 10th district, which was won by attorney Dan Goldman. Jones received 18.2% of the vote.