George Conway is betting Manhattan Democrats want his brand of anti-Trump lawyering.
Today, the infamous lawyer announced his entry into the race to replace Rep. Jerry Nadler in New York’s 12th District. It’s one of those rare moves that simultaneously feels like a logical sequel and a full-on narrative pivot. The onetime Republican lawyer, fervent Trump critic, and co-founder of the anti-Trump Lincoln Project has officially jumped into the ring and even moved back to Manhattan to do it.
Conway, 62, is no stranger to being in the spotlight. Once a partner at the elite Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz where he made his name in commercial litigation, he became nationally known not for legal wins but for how loudly he opposed Donald Trump’s presidency… even when he was married to Trump aide Kellyanne Conway.
And now? He’s gone from commentary to candidacy with a perfectly timed announcement, as per the New York Times:
Mr. Conway’s launch on Tuesday was timed to coincide with the fifth anniversary of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. If elected, he said he hopes to be a “wingman” for Representative Jamie Raskin, a Maryland Democrat who led the House’s impeachment case against Mr. Trump at the time.
“At 62, I can’t do this for very long and I don’t want to do this for very long,” he said. “I am kind of like a special-teams player coming in.”
Conway is leaning into that storyline hard. “This is no ordinary time. And I will not be an ordinary member of Congress,” Conway said in his launch video, underscoring that his bid isn’t about parking a nameplate on Capitol Hill but about combating Trumpism in the legislature itself. He also officially registered as a Democrat for this run, a noteworthy detail for a man who long identified as a Republican and once actively supported Trump’s 2016 campaign.
“I get how people can be upset how I once supported Trump,” Conway said. “But I think if people really listen, my views, my philosophy, my values, have always been the same.” Though he has made some, erm, adjustments to his former conservative positions.
If elected, he said he would fight to protect the Affordable Care Act and support legislation that would enshrine the abortion rights that the Supreme Court eradicated into law. (Mr. Conway once argued that Roe v. Wade had been incorrectly decided, but he said this week that he thought the court’s decision overturning it was “appalling.”)
Conway’s profile is complicated. Any recall of his online presence from the Trump years evokes long threads of barbed commentary, public feuding, and a style that combines legal critique with social-media combativeness. This style endeared him to anti-Trump progressives, annoyed conservatives, and made him a idiosyncratic political celebrity.
But is that enough to win an election in a crowded Democratic primary in Manhattan which already features a clutch of high-profile candidates, including state lawmakers, advocates, and even Jack Schlossberg, the grandson of John F. Kennedy? Only time will tell, but knowing George Conway, it’s bound to be an entertaining ride.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @Kathryn1@mastodon.social.
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