George Conway — conservative lawyer turned professional Trump antagonist, co-founder of the Lincoln Project, and the man who famously divorced Kellyanne Conway over politics — finished fifth in a Democratic congressional primary on Monday. Fifth. Out of eight candidates. With approximately 6 percent of the vote.
The guy who divorced his wife over Trump just got divorced by the voters.
Conway was running to replace retiring Representative Jerry Nadler in New York's 12th Congressional District, a deep-blue Manhattan seat where hating Donald Trump is practically a job requirement. If there was any district in America where Conway's entire brand — "I used to be a Republican but Orange Man Bad" — should have worked, this was it.
It didn't work. With nearly 87 percent of expected votes counted, New York State Assemblymember Micah Lasher was the projected winner, having defeated seven other Democrats. Lasher, a former aide to Nadler who also held positions under Governor Kathy Hochul and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, had endorsements from both Nadler and Hochul. Alex Bores, another State Assembly member, finished second. Jack Schlossberg — President John F. Kennedy's grandson — finished third.
Conway finished behind all of them. Behind the political insider. Behind the AI regulation guy. Behind the Kennedy kid trading on his last name. George Conway, the man cable news couldn't stop booking for five years, couldn't crack the top four in the most anti-Trump district in America.
As commentator Todd Starnes put it: "George Conway sinks to an embarrassing fifth place finish in his New York congressional race. That's just pitiful."
The race itself was dominated by a proxy battle over artificial intelligence regulation and safety, with over $20 million spent by groups supporting stricter AI regulations on behalf of Bores, and over $8 million spent against him by a group called Leading the Future. Total ad spending on the race hit $26 million. Conway admitted he spent a $1 million of his own money on his campaign.
That's the part worth sitting with. Manhattan Democrats had $26 million worth of reasons to pay attention to this race. AI policy, endorsement wars, a Kennedy grandson — the primary had plenty of compelling storylines. "Guy who tweets about Trump" wasn't one of them.
Conway built an entire second career on opposing Donald Trump. He co-founded a super PAC to defeat him. He went on every cable network that would have him. He blew up his marriage over it. He turned himself into the face of the NeverTrump movement. And when he finally asked actual voters — not CNN producers, not Lincoln Project donors, but regular Democratic primary voters in Manhattan — to validate that career with their ballots, approximately 94 percent of them said no.
The winner, Lasher, is heavily favored in the November general election given the district's overwhelming Democratic lean. He'll almost certainly be the next congressman from New York's 12th.
Conway will almost certainly be back on cable news by Thursday, explaining what Republicans are doing wrong. He needs the money.
Six percent. In Manhattan. Running against Trump.
Turns out there's a difference between being popular on television and being popular.
