Democrats urged to refocus after Trump makes major gains in NY
NEW YORK - Vice President Kamala Harris won New York – but the margin that she won by has some Democrats urging those in their party to stop and readjust their priorities.
"The national and state Democratic Party brand is in a dumpster right now," Democratic State Senator James Skoufis said.
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Senator Skoufis represents a Hudson Valley district that has trended purple, but although he won his re-election bid by a 15 point margin – Vice President Kamala Harris lost that district by about 10 percentage points.
Skoufis says this should be a wakeup call for Democrats to focus more on issues that impact the working class – like public safety and tax relief – instead of focusing on more far left issues – saying it has alienated moderate voters.
"They see a lot of the Democratic Party disproportionately talking about issues that are quite frankly, far out of the mainstream, like decriminalizing sex work," Skoufis said.
President-elect Donald Trump received 43 percent of the statewide vote – the highest share for a republican in New York since 1988.
2024 election results: Who won in New York?
The results are coming in for several key Congressional races that took place across the Tri-State area, including New York.
He also picked up votes in New York City – making significant gains in minority neighborhoods.
You can see exactly where Trump made gains compared to 2020 in this map created by the non-profit news site: THE CITY.
One area for example, is Cornona, Elmhurst, East Elmhurst and Jackson Heights. In 2020 Trump did not win a single district here, but this year he won six districts in those areas.
New York State Republican Chairman Ed Cox says these are areas of opportunity for local Republicans.
"In Brooklyn and Queens and the Bronx, we have a lot of growth opportunities," Cox said. "The Hispanics are coming our way. They are socially conservative. They are small business people who are working hard. They just want safe streets, good jobs and good education."
"Let’s not get too hysterical interpreting the results," Deputy State Senate Majority Leader Mike Gianaris warns.
As Gianaris notes, although Democrats were hit hard at the top of the ticket – they were able to pick up 3 seats in the House of Representatives across the state.
However, Republicans were able to pick up 1 State Senate seat in Brooklyn-which will cost Senate Democrats their supermajority.
Gianaris says that this is a sign that Democrats can do more to address issues like health care costs, child care and education.
"These are the things that people speak up about around their dinner table every day, and I don't think we made a compelling enough case to them," Gianaris said.
Republican Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt says that Republicans plan to look at districts where Trump did well this year and use that as a roadmap for where they should focus their efforts on next year.
"What we're seeing is working class constituencies, both in cities as well as rural obviously, moving towards Republicans," Ortt said. "So I think we have an opportunity to go after seats in places that historically, Republicans have offered no candidate."
U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand also handily won reelection this year – but for the first time in her career, it was with less than 60% of the vote, garnering 58%.
It was also the first time a Republican US Senate Candidate in New York received more than 3 million votes since 1992.