At a time when the president is reeling from losses and devastation, congressional gains for New York state Democrats are one of the few bright spots in the party’s bleak results.
The Democratic Party lost five competitive House races in this blue state two years ago — the exact margin by which they lost the House majority. now, three of those districts are again in Democratic handseven as Vice President Kamala Harris underperformed her former running mate, President Joe Biden, in the state.
New York’s improbable battleground status could inform the way Democrats move forward, including the returns from early investments and sustained grassroots organizing, as well as candidates emerging from the national ticket who aren’t afraid to toe the national party line.
One key ingredient is not available everywhere: Democrats have redrawn state political maps earlier this yearalthough the move caused heartburn among some Democrats at the time. Still, Democratic winners and state leaders still see broader lessons.
“Where Gov. Hochul lost a lot or Vice President Harris lost a lot, we either won or lost less,” Rep.-elect Josh Riley told NBC News a few days after meeting with New York’s 19th Congressional District. . “And I think that’s why – I like to think anyway – it’s because my approach to this is not about partisanship and political parties. It really focuses on what people worry about sitting at the kitchen table.
A victory in Riley’s district meant winning the support of both Republicans and Democrats. Biden won his district by 4 points in 2020, and early data suggest the presidential split is closer this time around.
“We have to be respectful enough to see what people see with their own eyes,” Riley said of the conversations he’s had in the area. “We’ve had a lot of Democrats running around saying, ‘The economy is good,’ and then I go and talk to young families who tell me they’ve had to cut back on their grocery bill because the rent is so high.” I think it’s a dose of reality about what people are dealing with.”
It’s also a matter of having the resources to deliver that message.
After 2022, New York’s top three Democrats — Gov. Kathy Hochul, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and House Minority Leader Judge Jeffries — have joined together through a coordinated committee that allows them to pool cash and staff resources through the state party to shore up a downvote. candidates. The three leaders have built a political apparatus that boasts 38 offices in seven contested constituencies and boasts 100 full-time employees. The campaign, coordinated by Election Day, attracted more than 23,000 volunteers, knocked on more than 1 million doors and made 5 million phone calls, an “unprecedented” effort in the state, according to the group.
“New York realized very early on that we had become a battlefield and we needed a battlefield operation,” a source with direct knowledge of the coordinated campaign told NBC News, speaking on condition of anonymity to provide a more candid assessment.
Organizers drew inspiration from other states like Wisconsin, which recalibrated in the face of past electoral defeats. But workers also called for organizers to get creative, like providing wagons full of Diet Coke to drive around the infamous Syracuse University campus.Pepsi campus” Where Coke is Hard to Find – In the lead up to Election Day, it gives voters a dose of caffeine along with polling location information.
A source with direct knowledge of the coordinated campaign saw New York in 2024 as a place that “really goes against the narrative,” at least at the House level.
“It was a Trump wave at the top,” this person said, “but it didn’t save the incumbent Republicans in the House of Representatives in part because I think we’ve built an excellent communications operation with voters in all these districts” and the candidates “understood the nature” of their districts. “
Still, a Republican strategist who has worked on these New York races was quick to point out that this is not a clean sweep of competitive seats for Democrats who failed to carry the 1st or 17th Districts. “Obviously they thought there was more ground than there was,” the strategist said, predicting continued volatility in New York.
“We started in earnest in 2022, and I don’t think it’s over yet,” they said, noting Trump’s success with voters of color and other constituencies in and around New York City.
Leading up to Election Day, Republicans were eager to raise concerns about Harris’ negative influence on weak Democrats. An internal poll by the House of Representatives’ seven competitive House campaign groups showed Harris edging out Biden. – and even favors Trump. Ultimately, while Biden carried New York by 23 points in 2020, Harris’ margin nearly halved.
“I think so [Harris] “Because of how weakened Biden is in the public eye, it’s been helpful compared to where we would have been otherwise,” the source said, adding that Harris has energized the base. “We needed an energized base, and that’s when our candidates were able to get out there and convince voters that they were the right candidates to win this election. [GOP] those in office”.
Riley, one of the candidates who made it, says it’s not as complicated as some might think.
“If all you did was talk to unquote political pundits and pundits, you’d think there was a mystery to be solved here,” he said. “But if you talk to people on Birdsall Street one day, they’ll tell you they’re angry that our immigration system is broken. They are even more angry because the politicians are not honest with them about this issue.