George Conway, a conservative lawyer and vocal critic of President Donald Trump, filed paperwork on Monday to run as a Democrat for the seat Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) is vacating.
News of Conway entering the race began surfacing last month, especially after Conway confirmed he had hired a Democratic pollster to weigh his chances.
Conway was previously married to Kellyanne Conway, who helped manage Trump’s 2016 presidential bid and then served in the White House during Trump’s first term.
Though George Conway was also offered a position with the administration during Trump’s first term, he declined. The relationship between the president and Conway turned contentious, with Conway often criticizing Trump and the president in turn commenting on the Conways’ marriage.
The feud ultimately culminated in Trump calling Conway a “stone cold LOSER & husband from hell” and Conway calling Trump a “fascist.” Conway went on to pen an essay that called Trump “unfit for office.”
The lawyer eventually co-founded The Lincoln Project, a PAC of former Republicans with a self-described purpose of defeating Trump, and has continued to criticize the president.
Conway will join an increasingly crowded primary race for Nadler’s seat. At least 10 hopefuls — including Jack Schlossberg, the only grandson of John F. Kennedy — have filed to run for the position since Nadler announced in September he would not seek reelection.
March for Our Lives organizer Cameron Kasky, Assemblymen Alex Bores and Micah Lasher and Councilmember Erik Bottcher have also filed to run for the Manhattan-based seat.
