The 2022 Midterms may not have turned out to be exactly the Red Tsunami that many Republicans had hoped for.

But some strong red waves washed over more places and hit harder than many first thought.

And one “Red Wave” train finally hit and it washed up to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s doorstep.

Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY) the chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, has conceded defeat.

Top House Democrats loses to Republican in blue New York Congressional district

This marks a humiliating loss for Democrats and the chair of the Party’s campaign arm.

FLIP ALERT: Michael Lawler (R) defeats Sean Patrick Maloney (D-inc) in New York's 17th Congressional District

⦿ This seat is flipped from 🔵➡️🔴
⦿ NY-17 is Biden +10.1% seat pic.twitter.com/3N19NJd40U

— InteractivePolls (@IAPolls2022) November 9, 2022

The new Republican Representative-elect is Mike Lawler, a state lawmaker who campaigned on skyrocketing crime and inflation.

Maloney appeared at the DCCC headquarters in Washington on Wednesday to brief reporters alongside his husband and was brimming with emotion.

He praised House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and credited his staff with a closer-than-expected overall national election result.

Maloney said, “House Democrats beat the spread on Tuesday. Lawler won the race fair and square but Democrats should be proud. We resisted the temptation to chase the shiny objects. We were disciplined and focused. And we did the work. As we sit here, I can’t with 100% certainty tell you who holds the House majority.”

Maloney isn’t alone among New York Democrat losses as the GOP flips Long Island and brings Red Wave to AOC’s doorstep

Maloney was likely the most powerful New York Democrat to lose their Midterm bid but he was hardly alone.

In fact, Politico has reported that “Republicans pick up 3 New York House seats with Long Island sweep,” in addition to the defeat of the DCCC chair in the Hudson Valley’s 17th District.

With Republicans winning Congressional seats in the Hudson Valley and Long Island, the GOP now has practically surrounded far-Left “Squad” Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

The 17th district leans blue and went for President Joe Biden in 2020 by 10 points.

This was mostly new territory for Maloney, as he elected to run here after Democrats got greedy in the redistricting process and the state’s courts found their egregious gerrymander to be unconstitutional.

The courts then redrew the Congressional map to more closely align with the partisan makeup of the Empire State.

Lawler consistently polled with tight margins against Maloney.

He ran on combating crime and tackling inflation, and his message resonated in suburban Westchester County, along with the more exurban counties of Putnam and Rockland.

A large and politically active Orthodox Jewish voting bloc lives here and helped to swing the district to the Republican.

Additionally the district is home to a large proportion of households with first responders, law enforcement or military members.

Republicans had a very strong night in New York State.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin was defeated by incumbent Democrat Kathy Hochul, but Zeldin’s statewide total of 47% was the highest vote share for any Republican candidate for the state’s top office since George Pataki was elected governor in 2002.

Also, pending final results, the Party may have ended the Democrat supermajority in the state legislature.

Zeldin’s dominance in Long Island and upstate helped his party to flip four Congressional seats from Democrat to Republican control.

The overall margin in the House is still unclear but if Republicans wrest control as expected, the margin of victory may prove to have occurred in New York.

Stay tuned to Blue State Blues for any updates to this ongoing story.