by
Andrew
Harnik/Getty
Images)
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
@[email protected].