Attempting to elect Democrats in New York is a new venture for the New York State Democratic Committee this year.
Following a disastrous performance in 2022, prominent Democrats like as Governor Kathy Hochul pledged that the party apparatus would initiate a historic concerted effort to elect party members at all levels of government in 2024. That would be crucial for the Democrats’ hopes of reclaiming the House in a state with six or more competitive districts.
Past promises of a similar kind have led to investments that were little more than statistical outliers in close contests. Nevertheless, with just four months to go until the election, there is now proof that the state party is more engaged in the campaigns this November compared to previous years.
The party will shortly make an announcement about the coordinated effort, which has already engaged 60 field staffers and fellows and hopes to have 100 on the ground soon. The establishment of 30 field offices in competitive congressional districts is also underway.
The party’s involvement seems to have increased as of late, according to campaign money disclosure forms.
Over the first six months of 2024, three separate groups run by Democrats in New York raised a total of $5.9 million. The two most recent presidential years without a pandemic, 2012 and 2016, had budgets of approximately $1.5 million. This is an increase from those two years.
There is a total of $4.3 million in the party accounts. From 2012 to 2016, the amount increased from $433,000 to $1.5 million.
The DCCC is anticipated to invest tens of millions of dollars into the state, and this money comes at the same time. Also, in an attempt to galvanize the left, progressive organizations have poured over $2 million into a campaign to support an Equal Rights Amendment at the state level.
Speaking on behalf of the state party, Hochul “has made unprecedented investments,” according to spokesman Jen Goodman. “The foundation to flip the House majority and elect Democrats across the state will be laid by the tireless fundraising, organizing, and mobilization efforts of the governor, [House Minority] Leader [Hakeem] Jeffries, and Sen. [Kirsten] Gillibrand in the year 2024.”
Considering that some state Senate campaigns in New York can cost more than $5 million each, the state party’s contributions aren’t very substantial. Some Democrats who did well on the down-ballot are helping out with the centralized efforts, but otherwise running their campaigns the same way they always have.
Even those who doubt Hochul’s sincerity concede that she has worked harder to elect Democrats than her predecessors.
In 2018, then-Governor Eliot Spitzer utilized $1.3 million from the party’s coffers to aid in his victory in a special election for the state Senate, which became somewhat of a scandal. This went against the conventional wisdom that states should let their legislative leaders handle partisan disputes.
Due to Spitzer’s brief administration following that race, the Democratic Committee did not persist in its tough stance for an extended period of time. The most substantial outlay of funds in subsequent years was in 2013, when the party spent $5.3 million on television advertisements, all of which served to accentuate Andrew Cuomo’s strong leadership.
When Cuomo was in office, Hochul’s immediate predecessor, the party avoided fighting for the tenuous Republican majority in the state Senate, which would arise on occasion with the support of a handful of independent Democrats. If Democrats had won the chamber, they would have had complete control of the New York state government. However, this might have set the stage for a legislature that tried to pressure Cuomo, similar to what happened when Democrats took over the house in 2018.
In 2014, when vying for the endorsement of the Working Families Party, Cuomo promised to establish a $10 million fund to assist Senate Democrats; however, he ultimately only contributed $1 million to the cause. After promising a more forceful campaign two years later, he once again failed to deliver; he told Republicans, “You can’t call that campaigning” when asked about his attempts.
Rejecting the candidate There was no need for the party’s support during the Blue Wave for Democrats. The failure of a Democratic-led constitutional amendment on redistricting, which would have allowed the party to gerrymander congressional lines, and the subsequent dismal 2021 election reignited the dismay of party activists. Conservatives spent more than $3 million to defeat Democrats in October, and Democrats were caught unawares since they done nothing to aid that year’s ballot questions.
By 2022, Republicans had taken control of three congressional districts and were able to hold on to others that were highly competitive. After beginning the race with the expectation of winning 22 out of 26 congressional districts, Democrats ended up winning just 15, and the national spotlight turned to criticism of the state party.
Those in the party who have previously called for Democrats to be more proactive in their campaigns are crossing their fingers that this year’s effort isn’t just a band-aid. According to Erica Vladimer, a state committee member, new field offices ought to be physically located somewhere.
During the campaign, Vladimer emphasized the need of praising the work that Democrats at all levels, from local to federal, were doing. “The state party doesn’t appear to be acknowledging that we need to retain these seats in 2026, 2028, and 2030; it’s not enough to simply flip the House in 2024.”