Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, leader of the House Democrats' campaign arm, conceded to a New York Republican in a shocking upset

• Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney conceded defeat early Wednesday morning.
• Maloney's loss is a stunning win for Republicans on an otherwise good night for Democrats.
• Maloney is the leader of House Democrats' campaign arm.

Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney on Wednesday conceded defeat to a New York Republican, a shocking loss for the House Democrats' campaign chief that comes as his party performed surprisingly well in the midterms.

As head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Maloney took a lead role in recruiting candidates and raising money to defend a number of embattled Democratic incumbents. As of Wednesday morning, the House majority remains too close to call, a development that has taken Washington by surprise.

Maloney's presumed defeat hands a major PR victory to Republicans who can now claim the banner of having ousted a top Democratic leader in a blue state. Historically speaking, it is hard to beat an incumbent member of Congress and even more difficult to take down a party boss.

"In New York, we defeated Sean Patrick Maloney," House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy boasted early Wednesday morning long before Maloney conceded. "It will be the first time in over 40 years a D triple C chair lost his reelection."

In a press conference at DCCC headquarters, Maloney touted Democrats' better-than-expected performance.

"Last night, House Democrats stood our ground," he told reporters on Wednesday. "We believe November 8, 2022 will be a signature date in American political history… we hope the high watermark of some of the anger and division we have dealt with this entire cycle, from January 6 onward."

Maloney said he could not say for certain which party would have control of the House come January."We don't know where the dust will settle," he said. "If we fall a little short, we're gonna know that we gave it our all."

The New Yorker also reflected on his loss to Republican Mike Lawler.

"My opponent won this race, and he won it fair and square, and that means something," he said. "So I'm gonna step aside." He added that he would "talk to my family about what comes next."

In recent weeks, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had publicly dismissed concerns about Maloney's chances.

"They want to fell a mighty oak. That's what they do," Pelosi told Punchbowl News.

Decision Desk HQ and Insider have yet to make a projection for Maloney's reelection campaign as of 12:16 pm EST. Lawler leads Maloney by just over 1 percentage point, or roughly 3,000 votes, with an estimated 93% of the expected vote in. That being said, neither media calls nor candidate concessions hold any legal water when it comes to determining the actual winner of a race. Maloney's concession means the Democrat clearly does not see a path to victory.

New York Democrats struggled on election night. As of Wednesday morning, Rep. Lee Zeldin was losing by just under six points to Gov. Kathy Hochul, who is projected to have won election to a full term. Meanwhile, Republican Anthony D'Esposito was leading in a contest for a Long Island district that President Joe Biden carried overwhelmingly in 2020.

Maloney's demise may be greeted with a degree of schadenfreude by House Democrats. He angered many of his progressive colleagues when he decided to leave his district following the once-in-a-decade redrawing of congressional maps. Rep. Mondaire Jones, a fellow New York who represented more of the new seat, was then forced to run in a crowded primary that he ultimately lost.

"Yikes," Jones tweeted when news of Maloney's concession broke.