How N.Y. Democrats shaped the 2024 elections nationwide — and what's next
And a CapCon Q&A with Gov. Kathy Hochul.
Good afternoon — it’s Tuesday and Vanilla Ice Cream Day.
TUESDAY, JULY 23, 2024
TODAY’S CAPCON:
Democrats from New York played a big role in shaping this year’s elections, including the race for president. What’s next?
Republicans from New York take center stage in D.C. after the failed assassination attempt on the former president.
What should the ballot language for the Equal Rights Amendment look like? Democrats are concerned.
A CapCon Q&A with Gov. Kathy Hochul.
☀️ Tonight’s Weather: Albany: Chance of storms, rain, high 60s. New York City: Rain likely, low 70s. (National Weather Service)
🔵 Democrats from New York hold a lot of power in national politics. They just showed it.
☎️ Cracks in a party unsure of its future in New York have now been mended with new hope toward its future.
Vice President Kamala HARRIS garnered support from enough Democratic delegates overnight to secure her spot as the party’s nominee for president this year.
Those delegates still have to formally vote for Harris as the nominee but she’s received informal support.
There are nearly 4,000 delegates nationally that have to vote for a nominee and by Tuesday afternoon she had the backing of nearly 3,000 of them.
Among those are New York’s 307 delegates, who met virtually Monday night to discuss their support for Harris.
It didn’t take long for them to vote in support of her as their nominee.
“The vice president is a true leader, a partner to one of our most successful presidents, and someone who represents the ideals and values of the Democratic Party – I’m thrilled New York has her back,” said Jay Jacobs, chair of the state Democratic Party.
But New York’s influence over this election cycle — and the next — shouldn’t be overlooked.
A unique combination of factors has put New York at the forefront of this year’s elections, including the race for president.
New York has the second-highest number of delegates to the Democratic National Convention in the country. California is first.
That gives the Empire State considerable influence over the national party and, consequently, its nominee for president.
If the delegates met last night and decided to hold their support for Harris, today might feel different in political circles.
💪 New York holds more power in politics than some realize.
For a brief few days, the push for President Joseph R. BIDEN to drop his reelection bid had slowed last week.
It was then reported that both U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. SCHUMER and House Minority Leader Hakeem JEFFRIES had both told Biden privately his chances weren’t good.
“I hope my private conversations are more private than those,” Gov. Kathy HOCHUL joked when asked about those reports last week.
It was a change from what we had seen publicly from Schumer and Jeffries.
Schumer had repeatedly said he supported Biden as the nominee when asked in public.
And Jeffries had been vague, saying he supported the Biden-Harris ticket but that some of his members had concerns.
About three days later, Biden announced his decision to pass the torch and endorsed Harris as the party’s new nominee.
The message from Jeffries and Schumer — and many others — had been heard. Biden had given them what they asked for at his own expense.
If Jeffries and Schumer had disagreed with other Democrats about Biden’s viability as a candidate, today might also feel different in political circles.
But both men have something in common: each wants to win a majority of seats in November to give Democrats power over both chambers of Congress.
A handful of races in New York are considered competitive and could decide the House majority.
And Democrats want to grow the razor-thin majority in the Senate.
🏋️ And that’s where we see their strength.
Jeffries and Schumer also have something else in common: they both hail from Brooklyn.
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