Rep.-elect Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.-11)

Date of birth: Nov. 11, 1980
Residence: Staten Island, N.Y.
Occupation: New York State assembly
Education: B.A., Seton Hall University; MBA, Wagner College
Family: single

Nicole Malliotakis beat Democratic incumbent Rep. Max Rose (N.Y.) to represent New York’s 11th Congressional District.

She comes to Washington after serving as the minority whip on the New York state assembly, representing the boroughs of Brooklyn and Staten Island.

Malliotakis was elected to the New York State assembly in 2010 and had served in office with a number of historic firsts. She was, at one time, the only Republican woman serving in elected office in New York City. She is also the first Hispanic woman to win elected office in Staten Island. Malliotakis is both the first Greek American and the first Cuban American woman elected to office in New York state.

Hurricane Sandy badly hit Malliotakis’s district in 2012. Her assistance to constituents in the aftermath and recovery is a hallmark of her tenure in the state Assembly.

In 2017, Malliotakis unsuccessfully ran as the Republican nominee against incumbent New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D).

Malliotakis is the daughter of immigrants. Her father, George, was born in Greece and her mother, Vera, left Cuba in 1959 when Fidel Castro came to power.

– Cate Martel