Moderates have defeated the “wokeness” within the New York Democratic Party.
The left-wing political revolution that swept through New York City’s sleepy northern suburbs in 2018 and 2020 is in retreat. – Outspoken progressive politicians like “The Squad” Reps. Jamaal Bowman, Mondaire Jones and Alessandra Biaggi have been defeated or are no longer in office.
The liberal movement unleashed in response to Donald Trump’s 2016 election and presidency has nosedived over the past four years, as far-left incumbents and candidates have been defeated and the Democratic Party has shifted sharply to the center in major elections.
“Political power is built on a pendulum that swings back and forth,” Jay Jacobs, chairman of the New York State Democratic Party, told The Post.
“If it swings too far in one direction, it’s bound to swing back the other way,” said Jacobs, a moderate who also represents the Nassau County Democratic Party. “And that’s what we’re seeing today in New York and across the country.”
“The pendulum has swung the other way. Democrats have made it clear that they support a moderate approach.”
Controversial policies such as “defunding the police” and opposing Israel are unpopular positions among rank-and-file Democrats and are alienating suburban voters from radical candidates, party officials and strategists said.
The move to the center includes:
- Bowman, a two-term incumbent, suffered a landslide defeat last month to moderate Rep. George Latimer in the Democratic primary for the 16th Congressional District, which stretches from Co-op City in the Bronx to the leafy suburbs of Westchester County.
- Biaggi defeated former Sen. Jeff Klein to win the Bronx-Westchester state Senate seat in 2018, but lost 2-1 to Sean Patrick Maloney in the 2022 Democratic primary for the Hudson Valley House of Representatives.
- Former Rep. Mondaire Jones, who abandoned his 17th Congressional District in the lower Hudson Valley in the 2022 redistricting process, lost a primary to moderate Dan Goldman in the 10th Congressional District, which covers downtown Manhattan and Brooklyn. He is now seeking to return to his old seat, which is being held by Republican incumbent Rep. Mike Lawler, who is in his first term.
Political consultant Jake Dilemani said the change in the suburbs could be a sign the party is reaching far beyond the state.
“If you compare it to a few years ago to now, Westchester’s elected officials are definitely more mainstream Democrat than far-left Democrat,” he said.
Dilemani said the primary was the most expensive House primary in history because it was a message election.
“This could set off a domino effect for other ‘Squad’ members across the country, with Missouri’s Cori Bush being the next nominee,” he said, “So while Bowman-Latimer is obviously important, it could have an impact across the country, not just in her district.”
He said some liberal voices were amplified during the Trump administration because some Democrats were trying to vote “as far away from Trump as possible.”
“And in a lot of races, when people are unhappy with politics or the national situation, a lot of Democrats can’t take their frustrations out on Republicans because they take their frustrations out on incumbents and mainstream Democrats in the primary because in a lot of races, the Democratic candidate is the de facto winner in the November election,” he said.
But by 2022, when the Biden administration took office, a backlash had already begun, he said.
Meanwhile, on Long Island, Republicans won virtually every major office in a voter backlash after Albany Democrats approved an unpopular cashless bail law in 2019. But in a bright spot for the party, moderate Rep. Tom Suozzi recaptured his previously held 3rd Congressional District in a special election in February after habitual liar Republican Rep. George Santos was ousted.
Centrist John Avlon easily managed to endorse Stony Brook University chemistry professor Nancy Goroff in the East End/Suffolk County 1st Congressional District.
Jacobs said Democratic voters are “clearly rejecting extremism,” while Republicans are embracing extremism by renominating Trump.
“This trend undermines Republicans’ false claim that Democrats are the party of the far left, which we are not,” Jacobs said. “While we respect their views, we are a party of moderates that promotes commonsense solutions to the real, everyday challenges facing voters in our state and country.”
Jacobs did not elaborate on the issues on which moderates won, but said pro-Israel was the smart position to take in the suburbs, and he supported changes to tougher bail laws.
But Democratic strategist John Reinisch said voters rejected the policies of far-left politicians who are seen as more pro-criminal than pro-safety and more obsessed with criticizing Israel than addressing basic issues of life.
“The vast majority of voters are common sense voters who reject any kind of extremism, whether it’s cutting police budgets or being against school choice,” said Reinisch, who has worked with charter schools.
“Voters want safety and prosperity,” he added.
The rebellion began in 2018 when progressives toppled four incumbent state senators who were members of the Independent Democratic Caucus, which was allied with Republicans. – It’s a fatal blow in a state that has been heavily Democratic in the Trump era.
Meanwhile, democratic socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also defeated veteran Queens/Bronx Rep. Joe Crowley in the Democratic primary that year.
Democratic Socialist candidates won six seats in the state Assembly in the last election.
“The far left was on the rise, and New York voters found themselves extremists,” Reinisch said.
The Working Families Party, which supports many left-leaning candidates and sometimes allies with the Democratic Socialists of America, backed Bowman in her losing race.
However, WFP noted that the party’s candidates performed well in state elections.
“Facing challenges from the right, we successfully protected all of our state legislators and added three new women of color to the Legislature. New Yorkers need bold, visionary leaders who will enact real change to improve their lives,” WFP spokesman Ravi Mangla said.
Bowman remains on the WFP’s ballot, but he is not actively campaigning to wrest votes from Latimer, the current Westchester County commissioner.
Latimer will face Republican pediatrician Miriam Leavitt Flisser in November in a Democratic-leaning district.
The state elections were a mix of good and bad for the political left.
For the second consecutive term, moderate Rep. Michael Benedetto handily defeated Jonathan Soto in the North Bronx’s 82nd Congressional District, who is backed by Ocasio, the DSA and the WFP, while Brooklyn incumbent Rep. Stephanie Zinnerman fended off a challenge from DSA insurgent Eon Huntley.
But DSA candidate Claire Valdez won the seat in western Queens in the 37th District, which covers Ridgewood, Long Island City and Sunnyside, defeating Democratic-backed candidate Joanna Carmona and incumbent state Assemblyman Juan Ardilla, who has been dogged by sexual abuse accusations.
The DSA incumbent, like most incumbents, – Including Brooklyn Council Member Emily Gallagher – He easily won reelection.
