Former Obama Official Joins Race To Replace Lowey

CHAPPAQUA, NY — Another hat has been tossed into the ring to replace retiring Rep. Nita Lowey in Congress. Dr. Evelyn Farkas announced Monday that she would be running as a Democrat to represent the 17th Congressional District.

During an appearance on "Morning Joe," the former assistant deputy assistant secretary of defense under the Obama administration said she's been fighting hard against what the Trump administration has been doing and knows that she can govern from day one.

"I can help protect American democracy, do all the things I know how to do, protect against terrorism, protect against Kim Jung Un, and at the same time bring results home for the people of my district," Farkas said on the morning political talk show.

Under Obama, she was responsible for the administration's policies toward Russia, Ukraine and several other European countries.

The 17th Congressional District is comprised of Rockland County and parts of Westchester County.

Farkas joins a crowded field that is likely to result in a Democratic primary.

Mondaire Jones, 32, a Rockland County Democrat, had announced a run for Lowey's seat before she retired. Jones, who worked in the DOJ under the Obama administration and more recently served as a litigator in the Westchester County Law Department, described himself as an openly gay, black man and had hoped to challenge Lowey from the left.

After Lowey's Oct. 10 announcement, David Buchwald, a White Plains Democrat representing the 93rd Assembly District, announced on Facebook that he would be running to replace Lowey.

State Senator David Carlucci, D-Rockland/Westchester, and Sleepy Hollow resident Allison Fine, the former chairwoman of the pro-choice organization NARAL, have also announced their intentions to run for Congress.

Evelyn Farkas, fmr. deputy assistant sec. of defense, announces on @Morning_Joe she is running for the New York congressional seat of retiring Rep. Nita M. Lowey. https://t.co/Bk0UtV5fGx
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) November" class="redactor-linkify-object">https://twitter.com/MSNBC/stat... 18, 2019