Cynthia Nixon rips Carolyn Maloney in NYC Congress race over past ‘anti-vax’ views

Like Sarah Jessica Parker kicking Kim Cattrall to the curb over another “Sex and the City” sequel, show star Cynthia Nixon is urging Manhattan Democrats to drop Rep. Carolyn Maloney over her past views on vaccines.

A heated exchange took place last Thursday as the longtime congresswoman sought backing at a virtual candidate forum hosted by the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club, which ultimately voted to hook up with Maloney’s longtime colleague turned bitter primary rival, Rep. Jerrold Nadler.

“I asked Carolyn about her long and very well-documented history of anti-vax legislation, hearings, and rallies because I am frankly alarmed by it,” Nixon told The Post.

The East Side Dem then “sidestepped” the question from the longtime activist, who unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for governor four years ago.

And just like that, Maloney’s chances of winning over Nixon went out the window.

“I cannot think of a more staunch or influential anti-vax Congressperson on the Democratic side than Carolyn Maloney and that alone is enough to disqualify her in my book,” Nixon added in the statement.

Nadler won the endorsement of the club with 52% support against Maloney and attorney Suraj Patel.

The 10-term congresswoman indulged the discredited link between autism and childhood vaccines for years before distancing herself from such ideas in 2018.

“There’s too much verbal evidence coming from parents where they break down [and say] ‘I had a normal child, I gave him a vaccination, and then they came down with autism,” she said at a 2012 congressional hearing on autism. 

Despite this history, Maloney spokesman Bob Liff said Nixon rather than Maloney was the woman flirting with spreading information.

“Cynthia Nixon’s question was based on false information and misrepresented Carolyn Maloney’s long support for vaccines and the science behind them. She did not sponsor ‘eight antivax bills,’” Liff said in the email.

Maloney has sponsored legislation “to increase public confidence, and address concerns about mercury in some vaccines for kids,” he added.

Anti-vaccine activists have blamed preservatives that contain mercury for supposedly endangering children receiving vaccines though most shots do not contain the toxic substance, which experts say safely passes through their bodies. 

Some local Dems got big doses of schadenfreude after Maloney got ripped by Nixon.

“Those of us who are pro-vaccine, get it from the insane, anti-vaxxers. So it’s nice to see the tables turned,” a Manhattan Democrat familiar with the exchange told the Post Tuesday night.

A Nadler spokesman denied that his campaign had anything to do with the exchange between Maloney and Nixon, who has not yet formally endorsed anyone in the Aug. 23 primary.

The longtime Democratic incumbents are locked in a political death match after being placed in the Midtown-based Congressional District 12 after the state Court of Appeals tossed out new congressional lines approved by Albany Democrats. 

Nadler and Maloney had both previously secured endorsements from the liberal Jim Owles club.

“There was no villain in this race and a decision was made after much debate,” club President Alan Roskoff told the Post.

The fact that Nadler has endorsed Maloney for reelection in the past ought to disqualify him as well with voters in Congressional District 12, according to Patel, who is running for the third election cycle in a row against Maloney.

“Carolyn Maloney used the power of her office, position and seniority in Congress to give platform to anti-vax conspiracy theories … and Jerry Nadler still endorsed her at the height of the pandemic. This is why we need a new generation of leaders who will put science ahead of backroom, buddy/buddy politics,” Patel said in a statement. 

Additional reporting by Nolan Hicks