On the local scene, supporters of Republican candidates were resigned early on that New York is a deeply Democratic state, and as soon as polls closed, leading news organizations declared Governor Andrew Cuomo the winner in his quest to secure a third term. “This is to me not really a normal election,” Cuomo said to reporters at his poll site in Mount Kisco. “This is not really about politics as usual. In many ways, I believe, it’s not even about politics. It’s more about the philosophy of this state and the philosophy of this country.”
His opponent, Marc Molinaro, sought to emulate the most recent Republican governor, George Pataki, as a suburban moderate with crossover appeal. But with President Donald Trump dominating the headlines, every Republican candidate nationwide either rose or fell depending on the president’s popularity in each district and state.
Within an hour of the polls closing, NY1 News reported similar numbers for Cuomo, Attorney General candidate Tish James, and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, hovering between 74 and 77 percent of the vote, indicating that most New Yorkers voted down the party line in this year’s election. But as the evening count went on, Gillibrand’s lead increased over Chele Farley, giving confidence to her liberal platform that has upset many of New York’s Orthodox Jewish voters.
While the numbers appeared predictable, the crowds and lines that voters experienced in a non-presidential election exceeded expectations. Across the city, machines malfunctioned; and even as Democratic voters knew of the outcome, they wanted their votes to count, if only to show strength in their numbers. Likewise for Republican voters, who wanted to reduce the margin of victory for the eventual winners of the election.
After casting their votes, many of our politically active cast their eyes on a number of Congressional districts regarded as toss-ups. On Long Island, the First and Second Districts had Republican incumbents facing off against energized Democratic challengers. At the eastern tip, Lee Zeldin, the lone Jewish Republican in the House, was leading against Perry Gershon, and likewise in the Second, 25-year incumbent Peter King also appeared to be holding on against Liuba Grechen Shirley. Closer to the city line, Tom Suozzi easily kept his seat on the North Shore, while Kathleen Rice trounced Ameer Benno.
The only Congressional race of note within the city is the 11th District, covering Staten Island and southern Brooklyn – the only Republican seat in the Five Boroughs. If there’s any place where the Blue Wave made its landfall, it was under the Verrazzano Narrows Bridge, where incumbent Dan Donovan appeared to be losing to Democrat Max Rose with 75 percent of the vote counted.
Beyond the state, high profile Senate races included North Dakota, where the Republicans picked up a seat; Texas, where Ted Cruz fought off the telegenic and highly acclaimed Beto O’Rourke; and Florida, where Rick Scott defeated Ben Nelson. Typical of this swing state’s results, Scott won with 50.5 percent of the vote. A squeaker of a victory, but that’s all it takes to win. Indiana gave its majority to Republican Mike Braun, who beat incumbent Joe Donnelly.
There were still many contests in the western states and gubernatorial races on which we could not report, due to our printing schedule; but the message of the evening was clear. President Donald Trump’s base was solid and the Blue Wave was a mere ripple, failing to resonate beyond the urban core and some of the nation’s suburbs. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is basking in her victory as the youngest member of Congress and a Democratic Socialist; but on Capitol Hill, she will have little clout and hardly any chance of passage for her agenda.
Perhaps, Election Night was a lesson for the Democrats to return to the political center and appeal to the nationalism and exceptionalism that appear to define this country in light of the Trump administration.
By Sergey Kadinsky
Blue Wave Fails To Materialize In Senate
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