Mondaire Lamar Jones (born May 18, 1987) is an American lawyer and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, Jones was the U.S. representative for from 2021 to 2023. Before his 2022 defeat, Jones was described as a rising star in the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. He is an advocate for

Medicare for All Single-payer healthcare is a type of universal healthcare, in which the costs of essential healthcare for all residents are covered by a single public system (hence "single-payer"). Single-payer systems may contract for healthcare services from pr ...

and the

Green New Deal The Green New Deal (GND) calls for public policy to address climate change, along with achieving other social aims like job creation, economic growth, and reducing economic inequality. The name refers to the New Deal, a set of changes and ...

. In June 2020, he supported calls to

defund the police In the United States, "defund the police" is a slogan advocating for reallocating funds from police departments to non-policing forms of public safety and community support initiatives, such as social services, youth programs, housing, education, ...

, and said that his goal in running for Congress was to "fight systemic racism". When first elected, he became one of the two first openly gay Black members of Congress. After the 2020 redistricting cycle, he sought reelection in

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

in losing the Democratic primary to attorney

Dan Goldman Daniel Sachs Goldman (born February 26, 1976) is an American politician and lawyer who has been the U.S. representative for New York's 10th congressional district since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the lead m ...

, who went on to win the seat in the general election. In July 2023, Jones announced that he would again seek election, this time in the 17th district, in 2024. He was defeated by incumbent

Mike Lawler Michael Vincent Lawler (born September 9, 1986) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for New York's 17th congressional district since 2023. From 2021 to 2022, he was a Republican member of the New York State Assembly fr ...

in the general election.

Early life and career

Jones was born in

Nyack, New York Nyack () is a Village (New York), village primarily located in the Town (New York), town of Orangetown, New York, Orangetown in Rockland County, New York, United States. Incorporated in 1872, a small western section of the village lies in Clarkst ...

, and grew up in

Spring Valley, New York Spring Valley is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in the town of Ramapo, New York, Ramapo and Clarkstown, New York, Clarkstown in Rockland County, New York, Rockland County, New York (state), New York, United States. It is ...

, 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 East Ramapo Central School District is a school district in Ramapo, New York, United States. It is headquartered in the Senator Eugene Levy Dr. Jack R. Anderson Education Center. History 20th century On March 4, 1952, seven school districts m ...

. Jones earned his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

from

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

in 2009. After graduating from Stanford, He worked in the

U.S. Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of federal laws and the administration of justice. It is equi ...

during the

presidency of Barack Obama Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. Obama, a Democrat from Illinois, took office following his victory over Republican nomine ...

. He then earned his

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

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 The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (in case citations, S.D.N.Y.) is a federal trial court whose geographic jurisdiction encompasses eight counties of the State of New York. Two of these are in New York City ...

. He also worked for

Davis Polk & Wardwell Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, commonly known as Davis Polk, is an American multinational corporation, multinational law firm headquartered in New York City with offices in Washington, D.C., Menlo Park, California, Menlo Park, London, Madrid, Brussel ...

for four years, and one year with the

Westchester County Westchester County is a county located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of New York, bordering the Long Island Sound and the Byram River to its east and the Hudson River on its west. The county is the seventh most populous cou ...

Law Department.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2020

Jones announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination to represent the 17th district, including most of central and northwestern

and all of

Rockland County Rockland County is the southernmost county on the west side of the Hudson River in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population is 338,329, making it the state's ...

, against 16-term incumbent

Nita Lowey Nita Sue Lowey ( ; Melnikoff; July 5, 1937 – March 15, 2025) was an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative from New York from 1989 until 2021. She was a member of the Democratic Party. Lowey also served as co-dean of the ...

. Three months after he entered the race, Lowey announced that she would not seek reelection. He advocated for

and the

. He also 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 Evelyn Nicolette Farkas (born December 6, 1967) is an American national security advisor, author, and foreign policy analyst. She is the current executive director of the McCain Institute, a nonprofit focused on democracy, human rights, and cha ...

State Senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

David Carlucci David S. Carlucci ( ; born April 3, 1981) is an American politician in Rockland County, New York. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the state senator for the 38th district, which includes most of Rockland County and parts of Westcheste ...

, and State Assemblyman

David Buchwald David Buchwald (born June 12, 1978) is an American politician and attorney who served as a member of the New York State Assembly, representing Assembly District 93, which includes the towns of Bedford, Harrison, Lewisboro, Mount Kisco, New Cast ...

, 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 The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. In August, Jones filed a lawsuit against President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

and Postmaster General

Louis DeJoy Louis DeJoy (born June 20, 1957) is an American businessman who served as the 75th U.S. postmaster general. He was appointed in May 2020 by the Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service (USPS) and resigned on March 24, 2025. Befor ...

to reverse recent changes made to the

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...

(USPS) that affected the agency's ability to deliver mail, including absentee ballots. Jones sued Trump and DeJoy "for violating

the Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

in their attempts to undermine the United States Postal Service and thwart free and fair elections this November." In September, U.S. District Court Judge

Victor Marrero Victor Marrero (born September 1, 1941) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Education and career Marrero was born in Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico. He received a ...

granted an injunction against the USPS that required it to restore overtime and treat all mail-in ballots as

first-class mail The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letters, and parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid-19th century, national postal syst ...

. In the November general election, Jones faced Republican nominee Maureen McArdle Schulman, a former

FDNY The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) is the full-service fire department of New York City, serving all five boroughs. The FDNY is responsible for providing Fire Suppression Services, ...

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 Ritchie John Torres (born March 12, 1988) is an American politician who has served as the U.S. representative for since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served on the New York City Council from 2014 to 2020. His congression ...

from

New York's 15th congressional district New York's 15th congressional district for the United States House of Representatives is located in New York City, State of New York. The district has been represented by Democrat Ritchie Torres since 2021. It is the poorest congressional dis ...

, Jones was one of the first gay African Americans elected to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

2022

Following redistricting, the 17th district included the residence of

Sean Patrick Maloney Sean Patrick Maloney (born July 30, 1966) is an American attorney and politician who served as the U.S. ambassador to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development from 2024 to 2025. He served as the U.S. representative from from ...

, the Democratic incumbent in the neighboring 18th district and chair of the

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is the Democratic Hill committee for the United States House of Representatives, working to elect Democrats to that body. The DCCC recruits candidates, raises funds and organizes races in ...

. Jones was no longer in the court drawn 17th district. According to ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

,'' "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 The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) is made up of Black members of the United States Congress. Representative Yvette Clarke from New York, the current chairperson, succeeded Steven Horsford from Nevada in 2025. Although most members belong ...

, who accused Maloney of putting his own political survival over the interests of the party". In 2024, ''

City & State ''City & State'' is a political journalism organization based in New York City. The company publishes a weekly magazine covering politics and government in New York City and New York State that is distributed to New York State legislators, co ...

'' reported that in actuality, Maloney had privately offered to withdraw from the primary, but Jones declined Maloney's offer in order to run in another district. Jones opted not to challenge Maloney in the redrawn 17th district; instead, on May 20, 2022, he announced that he would seek election in

New York's 10th congressional district New York's 10th congressional district is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives currently represented by Democrat Dan Goldman. The district contains all of Lower Manhattan, including Wall Street, and the west ...

. The district is located entirely in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, an area Jones had not represented nor lived in until he moved to

Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn Carroll Gardens is a neighborhood in the northwestern portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Encompassing approximately 40 city blocks, it is bounded by Degraw and Warren Streets (north), Hoyt and Smith Streets (east), Ninth Street ...

before the primary; prompting accusations of '

carpetbagging In the history of the United States, carpetbagger is a largely historical pejorative used by Southerners to describe allegedly opportunistic or disruptive Northerners who came to the Southern states after the American Civil War and were per ...

'. He finished third in the Democratic primary, behind winning candidate attorney

and runner-up state assemblymember

Yuh-Line Niou Yuh-Line Niou (; zh, t=牛毓琳, p=Niú Yùlín; born July 15, 1983) is an American politician who served as a member of the New York State Assembly for the 65th district. The Lower Manhattan district, which is heavily Democratic and over 40% ...

respectively. Jones received 18.2% of the vote.

2024

In July 2023, Jones announced his candidacy to return to Congress, running in the 17th district after relocating to Sleepy Hollow, a village within the district's boundaries. After the removal of Speaker

Kevin McCarthy Kevin Owen McCarthy (born January 26, 1965) is an American politician who served as the List of speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 55th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from January until he was Remova ...

, Jones tweeted a photo of McCarthy and Lawler meeting with Jewish leaders in

captioned "Well that was a waste of time." The post was condemned as antisemitic by Democrats

Jared Moskowitz Jared Evan Moskowitz ( ; born December 18, 1980) is an American politician serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for Florida's Florida's 23rd congressional district, 23rd congressional district since 2023. A me ...

and

Josh Gottheimer Joshua S. Gottheimer ( ; born March 8, 1975) is an American politician, attorney, writer, and public policy adviser who has served as the U.S. representative for since 2017. The district stretches along the northern border of the state from Ne ...

. Jones took down the tweet and apologized for any misunderstanding. Following the removal Moskowitz and Gottheimer took down their response and Moskowitz accepted Jones's apology and emphasized his record of opposing antisemitism. Jones's entry into the race solidified his position as the Democratic frontrunner, effectively clearing the primary field. By April 2024, he had raised over $3 million for his campaign. On Election Day, Jones was defeated by Republican incumbent

Tenure

Jones voted to certify the

2020 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 3, 2020. The Democratic Party (United States), Democratic ticket of former vice president Joe Biden and California junior senator Kamala H ...

and later voted to impeach during Trump's second impeachment. He and

Ted Lieu Ted Win-Ping Lieu ( ; born March 29, 1969) is an American lawyer and politician. He is a member of the Democratic Party and has represented California's 36th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives since 2023. He re ...

co-wrote a letter to the Attorney Grievance Committee of the New York State Supreme Court-Appellate Division asking for

Rudy Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani ( , ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and Disbarment, disbarred lawyer who served as the 107th mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney ...

to be disbarred due to his role in the

January 6 United States Capitol attack On January 6, 2021, the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., was attacked by a mob of supporters of Donald Trump, President Donald Trump in an attempted self-coup,Multiple sources: * * * * * * * * * * * * * two months afte ...

. Jones successfully lobbied

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE; ) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the Un ...

to halt the deportation of Paul Pierrilus, who was scheduled to be the last person to be deported during the Trump administration. Pierrilus, a constituent of Jones's, was to be deported to

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

, a country he had never been to, before Jones intervened. Jones, Senator

Ed Markey Edward John Markey (born July 11, 1946) is an American politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from the state of Massachusetts, a seat he has held since 2013. A member of ...

, Representative

Hank Johnson Henry Calvin Johnson Jr. (born October 2, 1954) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2007. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district is anchored in Atlanta's inner eastern suburbs, inclu ...

, and House Judiciary chair

Jerry Nadler Jerrold Lewis Nadler (; born June 13, 1947) is an American lawyer and politician from the state of New York. A Manhattan resident and a member of the Democratic Party, he has served as the U.S. representative for since 2023. Nadler was first ...

pushed for an expansion of the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

from 9 seats to 13. Around the same time, Jones called for a "Third

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...

" in a ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' opinion piece. He criticized President

Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. Ob ...

for supporting the 9-member ''

status quo is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, economic, legal, environmental, political, religious, scientific or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the curren ...

'' system of the Supreme Court and opposing the court's expansion.

Committee assignments

House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee In the United States House of Representatives, the two major political parties maintain policy and steering committees. Their primary purpose is to assign fellow party members to other House committees, and they also advise party leaders on po ...

House Judiciary Committee The U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary, also called the House Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is charged with overseeing the administration of justice within the federal courts, f ...

** Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law ** Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet * House Committee on Education and Labor ** Subcommittee on Workforce Protections ** Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Investment * House Committee on Ethics

Caucus memberships

Congressional Progressive Caucus The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) is a congressional caucus affiliated with the Democratic Party in the United States Congress. The CPC represents the progressive faction of the Democratic Party. " e Congressional Progressive Caucus, ...

Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus The Congressional Equality Caucus, formerly the Congressional LGBTQ+ Caucus, was formed by openly gay representatives Tammy Baldwin and Barney Frank on June 4, 2008, to advance LGBT+ rights. The caucus is chaired by the most senior openly ...

(co-chair)

After Congress

In 2023, Jones was appointed to the

United States Commission on Civil Rights The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (CCR) is a bipartisan, independent commission of the United States federal government, created by the Civil Rights Act of 1957 during the Eisenhower administration, that is charged with the responsibility f ...

, a federal agency focused on investigating and reporting on civil rights issues. The same year, he joined

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

as an on-air contributor and began working with the nonprofit Future Forward USA Action, which supports progressive causes.

Personal life

Jones publicly

came out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. This is often framed and debated as a privacy issue, ...

as gay at the age of 24 and is a member of the First Baptist Church of Spring Valley. In 2020, marking the 50th anniversary of the first gay

Pride parade A pride parade (also known as pride event, pride festival, pride march, or pride protest) is an event celebrating lesbian, Gay men, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) social and self-acceptance, achievements, LGBT rights by country o ...

, ''

Queerty ''Queerty'' is an online magazine and newspaper covering gay- and LGBTQ-oriented entertainment and news, founded in 2005 by David Hauslaib. As of June 2015, the site had more than five million monthly unique visitors. History ''Queerty'' was ...

'' recognized Jones as one of 50 individuals "leading the nation toward equality, acceptance, and dignity for all people."

Electoral history

2020

2022

2024

Notes

References

External links

Campaign website
* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Mondaire 1987 births 20th-century African-American politicians 21st-century African-American politicians 21st-century American lawyers African-American members of the United States House of Representatives African-American people in New York (state) politics American community activists Baptists from New York (state) Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) American gay politicians Harvard Law School alumni African-American LGBTQ people American LGBTQ lawyers LGBTQ members of the United States Congress LGBTQ people from New York (state) LGBTQ Baptists Living people New York (state) lawyers People from Nyack, New York People from Spring Valley, New York Stanford University alumni 21st-century African-American lawyers 21st-century American LGBTQ people United States Commission on Civil Rights members 21st-century New York (state) politicians Candidates in the 2024 United States House of Representatives elections 21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives

Early life and career

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2020

2022

2024

Tenure

Committee assignments

Caucus memberships

After Congress

Personal life

Electoral history

2020

2022

2024

See also

Notes

References

External links