NEW YORK – Despite all the controversy surrounding the 2020 election, one thing is not at stake: Democratic control of the New York state legislature. But while control of this party is not in jeopardy, Tuesday’s election could bring subtle changes to a political landscape where Governor Andrew Cuomo often makes the decisions.
Democrats could win a veto-proof majority by winning just two more seats in the 63-seat state senate, which the party won in 2018 after decades of Republican control.
New York would join the states of California, Hawaii and Rhode Island where Democrats control the governor’s office and two-thirds of the seats in both houses.
A veto-proof majority could change the dynamics of a state government where the governor sets the legislative agenda and has not shied away from using his veto power, or the threat of doing so, to control legislators who deviate too far from his political priorities. .
State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and House Speaker Carl Heastie could try to win bigger concessions from the state’s top Democrat, force their hand on contentious issues, or simply pass bills without a care. by a veto.
But it’s unclear whether Democrats, including a small but growing minority of left-wing and Socialist lawmakers, would use that veto-proof majority to push Cuomo further to the left.
Cuomo enjoys strong approval ratings. Lawmakers have given him emergency powers to lead the state response to COVID-19. His spokesman notes that he frequently campaigns for Democrats.
“Cuomo has been working overtime to elect these candidates on the ballot,” said spokesman Rich Azzopardi. “If I were afraid of a veto-proof majority, I wouldn’t be doing that.”
Azzopardi said Cuomo is looking forward to a strengthened Democratic conference: “We have accomplished a lot together for New York State and I can’t think of anything the legislature would approve of us not signing.”
In some parts of the state, battles between Republicans and Democrats for legislative seats have centered on recent criminal justice reforms that made it easier for defendants to get out of jail while they awaited trial and a debate on whether that had any. impact on public safety.
The Legislature and the governor struck down parts of a broad 2019 law that ended cash bail for most nonviolent crimes following protests by law enforcement groups, but its basic provisions remain intact.
In parts of the state, gun violence increased this year amid pandemic closures and civil unrest over police brutality.
A political action committee called Safe Together New York, with more than $ 4 million backed by billionaire Ronald Lauder, has been supporting Republicans calling for a crackdown on crime.
Lauder, Estée Lauder’s son, hopes to shift seats in the more moderate Long Island county and suburbs of Westchester.
There are virtually no public polls on legislative nominations. But it is clear that Republicans in many places face an uphill battle in a state where Democratic voters outnumber them 2 to 1.
Recent political losses likely fueled decisions by several senators against running for reelection this year.
Democrats have a registration advantage in at least six state Senate districts now represented by Republicans leaving office.
Republican Sen. Sue Serino faces a costly rematch with Democratic rival Karen Smythe, whom she narrowly defeated in her Hudson Valley district in 2018.
In the Assembly, where Democrats already have a comfortable two-thirds majority, Republicans hope to hold on to a Staten Island seat from Nicole Malliotakis, who is running for Congress. Republican Michael Tannousis, a former attorney and assistant to the county chairman of Staten Island, faces Democrat Brandon Patterson, former aide to Sen. Diane Savino.
On Manhattan’s Upper East Side, a lapse in paperwork forced a comfortable Democrat, Assemblywoman Rebecca Seawright, to run as a third-party candidate against Republican Louis Puliafito, a doorman. Seawright’s campaign said an illness in March led her to miss a deadline to run on the Democratic Party voting line.
Tuesday’s elections are also of great importance to the Working Families Party, a minor party that has a history of supporting progressives who challenge Democratic rulers in the party’s primaries. He is in a fight not to lose his place in future electoral votes.
With Cuomo’s support, a politically appointed commission increased the number of votes that political parties must obtain in an election to qualify for an automatic place on the ballot in the future. Some saw the increase as payback against the Working Families Party for failing to endorse Cuomo in its 2018 primaries.
The results of the previous elections suggest that the party should obtain the necessary votes. The threshold is 130,000 votes or at least 2% of the total votes cast, whichever is greater.
The party is safe. He’s running announcements with Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who urge New Yorkers to vote for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and vice-presidential candidate Kamala Harris in line with the Working Family Party. .
New York allows candidates with the endorsement of various parties to appear on a ballot multiple times. People can vote for their preferred candidates on a major or minor party line.
Ocasio-Cortez recognized the Working Families Party in a widely viewed live broadcast where she played the video game “Among Us.”
“You help support the infrastructure that helps support other progressive candidates, from top to bottom on the ballot,” he said last week.
Several progressives who toppled the New York City Democrats in the June primaries are expected to win the general election, including Jessica González-Rojas, Jenifer Rajkumar and Phara Forrest.
Any shift in the balance between the Center Democrats, the liberal wing of the party, and the Republicans could have an impact next year on proposals to legalize recreational marijuana use, redesign political districts, launch a payer healthcare system. unique and raise taxes on the rich.
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