New York democrats can wave off a Trafalgar poll on how close their state is to going red, except that Trafalgar is so accurate.
In the race for NY Governor:
Kathy Hochul (D)- 47.8%
Lee Zelden (R)- 43.4%
But even more surprising is the race for New York Attorney General.
Michael Henry (R)- 44.2%
Letitia James (D)- 43.0%
Leitia James ran a campaign on going after Trump's financial records, and she's followed through with that promise. The trouble is, every time she yells her accomplishments on Donald Trump, she's also telling her constituents what she's NOT doing- going after crime and criminals. And that's one issue Republicans CAN win on in New York.
That's exactly how Rudy Giuliani became mayor of New York City in the 90s. He ran on stopping crime. And the crazy thing is, it worked, and he followed through.
A similar story could have played out with current NYC mayor Eric Adams. He was the same as every other Democrat in the primary, except he ran on stopping crime. And he won. The trouble is, he didn't follow through with it like Giuliani did.
So is Eric Adams' folly an opportunity for Republicans in statewide New York races? Trafalgar's polls suggest yes. But let's not kid ourselves, New York is not getting more conservative. Senator Chuck Schumer is in no danger of losing his U.S. Senate seat in November because that seat has nothing to do with crime locally. The statewide race for Attorney General, however, does, and New York may have some surprise red representatives in January for that one reason.
Download the Audacy app and follow 97.1 FM Talk.
Ryan Wiggins is the author of the extremely serious and not funny robot novel, The Life of Human, and is a writer and producer of television shows. He is the host of Wiggins America on 97.1 FM Talk in St. Louis.