JPMorgan Project Manager, Comedian Files To Run Against Maloney

EAST VILLAGE, NY — A political newcomer says she will challenge U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney in a Democratic primary next year in a push to get corporate dollars out of Congress.

Lauren Ashcraft, a 30-year-old project manager at JPMorgan Chase and stand-up comedian, filed a form with the Federal Election Commission in late February to compete in the 2020 primary for New York's 12th Congressional District, which covers much of Manhattan's East Side as well as Greenpoint, Long Island City and Astoria.

Ashcraft, of Turtle Bay, is a Democrat who moved to New York from Pennsylvania in 2014.

Since last May, she has worked as a project manager at JPMorgan helping the company follow bank regulations. She supports Medicare for All, ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment in all 50 states, more gun control and criminal justice reform, among other progressive issues.

But the newcomer — who first got her start in political activism with the Women's March following the 2016 presidential election — insists she is not running 'against' the 26-year-incumbent.

"I'm not running against anyone," said Ashcraft, who has a Master of Public Administration from the University of Pittsburgh."I'm running for my platform, which is to get big money out of politics."

Her views, in some ways, echo Maloney's — considering that Maloney co-sponsors the recently introduced Medicare for All bill and has led an effort to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment since she took office in the early 1990s.

Since 2017, Ashcraft has stayed involved with the Women's March Alliance — the New York City branch of the national movement that split from the national group earlier this year. She spoke at the march in Columbus Circle in January.

After President Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election, Ashcraft turned her side gig as a stand-up comedian into a way to raise cash for nonprofits. In 2016, she founded the Collection Box Comedy show, in which she and a friend host free comedy shows around the city with a donation box to raise money for a range of causes, from Hurricane Maria relief in Puerto Rico to reproductive rights non-profits, according to Ashcraft and the show's Facebook page.

She blames corporate political action committees that donate big sums of money to politicians for stalling progressive policies such as Medicare for All, which has recently gained popularity among Democrats.

“I truly believe that the only influence [on politicians] should be the needs of the constituents," Ashcraft said.

Ashcraft said she is committed to not taking any corporate political action committee dollars — the main difference between her and Maloney, who has historically taken money from corporate PACs.

By the end of March, Maloney had raised $367,778, FEC filings show.

Ashcraft's campaign is so far backed by less than a dozen volunteers and $1,167, most of which was from donors contributing less than $200.

Ashcraft has never run for office before nor has she worked for other politicians' campaigns, aside from phone-banking for candidates such as freshman Rep. Colin Allred, a Democrat in Texas, she said.

But, she said, "It's not about having a certain resume."

"I truly believe that if you have that sense of community and have developed a relationship throughout the community as well, and you're studied on the policies directly affecting your district, and you're interested in making a difference in your district and on a national level, then, if you're doing it out of a place of passion, you absolutely should run," she said.

In 2018, Maloney, who has been in Congress since 1993, won her primary election against Suraj Patel with 58% of the vote in one of the most competitive primaries she had faced since 2010.

Patel, New York University professor and former Barack Obama campaign staffer, said he is strongly considering running again.

In a statement regarding another primary, a spokesperson for Maloney's campaign said, "Competition is good and a strong sign of the activism and energy in the Democratic Party right now."

Note: This article has been updated to accurately reflect campaign contributions.