By: Hellen Zaboulani
On Sunday, an op-ed piece written by New York City Mayor Eric Adams was published by USA Today. In the article, hizzoner wrote that Democrats have the “wrong attitude” in responding to voters’ chief concerns. The opinion piece was obviously a response to the election results, which in many cases showed a red wave despite the fact that Democrats hold a 2-to-1 enrollment advantage over Republicans in NYS.
“New York is the safest big city in America, but this statistic means nothing to a mother mourning a child lost to gun violence,” MayorAdams wrote in USA Today. “Voting is an act of emotional trust, not straightforward logic.It’s about acknowledging peoples’ needs, their emotions, their reality – and doing something about it,” Hizzoner wrote,stating that Democrats lost working-class voters. Adams admitted Republicans “do this well” and ask “the right questions” — despite later adding, “even as they supply the wrong answers.”
“Democrats have the right answers, but the wrong attitude,” Adams wrote. In the Op-ed, the mayor urged his fellow Democrats in NY and across the country to focus on “immediate” solutions to crime and other hot topics including inflation and the economy. “They are deeply concerned about the economy, crime and inflation. They are also increasingly looking for leadership that acknowledges their concerns and defends their interests, regardless of party,” he wrote. “We must push ‘right now’ solutions — such as investment in income tax credits, child care, housing, health care and public safety — front and center and keep them there,” Adams continued.
In the midterm elections last Tuesday, NYS elected Democratic incumbent Kathy Hochul for a full term as governor. Her victory against GOP Rep. Lee Zeldin, however, was too close for comfort. She won by just about 5 percent, or some 300,000 votes, as per the unofficial results cited by the NY Post. She was very close to becoming the first Democrat in NYS to lose a statewide election in 20 years. Republican candidates in NYS also took over three seats in the House. Overall, throughout the country the Democrats seem to have lost their majority in Congress, losing 10 seats for a total of just 204, leaving the Republicans with 212 seats, as per the Wall Street Journal. In the senate, the Democrats gained one seat overall, for a narrow 51 (vs. 49) majority.
As reported by the NY Post, the Big Apple mayor specifically noted that in the NY race, Democratic support among Hispanic and Asian voters was well below 2018 levels. Only 6 out of 10 Hispanic and Asian Americans voted for Democrats, according to exit polling by the Associated Press — down from 7 in 10 and 8 in 10, respectively, four years ago. “On Tuesday, Republicans from those communities in Queens and Brooklyn – traditionally deep blue areas – made very strong showings, capturing seats that are traditionally Democrats’,” Adams wrote. “Republicans will … continue to press their advantage in congressional maps, controlling more seats with fewer votes than we can as we become the party of only upper middle class urban and suburban residents, relegating us to long-term irrelevance.”
