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Politico
a day ago
- Politics
- Politico
Kathy Hochul's redistricting push gives her a needed boost
Hochul's rhetoric on redistricting belies the reality that New York won't have an immediate impact on the blue-state-red-state race to redraw House lines. The governor wants to scrap a quasi-independent commission in charge of New York's redistricting process — erasing a decade-old reform. Disbanding the panel, though, can't come without altering the state constitution, which also prohibits partisan gerrymandering. The earliest an amendment can be put before voters is in 2027, and there's no guarantee New Yorkers will approve it. Some Democrats grumble that Hochul's redistricting effort hasn't amounted to tangible, immediate action that would help win back control of the closely divided House in 2026. 'It's worse than performative, it highlights how ineffectual she is,' said one New York Democratic official, who was granted anonymity to speak frankly about the dynamic. 'It's a lot of rhetoric with no plan of action at a time when critical leadership is needed. She's ready with a press release.' Hochul's narrow 2022 victory came with Republican success in crucial House races on Long Island and in the Hudson Valley, prompting former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to blame the governor's threadbare coattails for Democrats' poor showing. Since then Hochul has sought to build up the state Democratic Committee in order to boost down-ballot candidates ahead of her own campaign next year. She has also consulted with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a Brooklyn Democrat, on redistricting. Jeffries this week praised blue state governors who have responded forcefully to Texas' efforts to gerrymander its political map. 'We're supposed to unilaterally disarm? It's not going to happen,' he told journalist Jessica Yellin on her podcast . A former House member who represented a deep red pocket of western New York, Hochul held moderate positions in Congress on gun control and illegal immigration. As governor, she pinned blame on the New York GOP delegation after Trump's megalaw included deep cuts to health care and social services — widening the state's budget gap by at least $3 billion in the process. She responded sarcastically when asked about blue state Republicans — including her nemesis Lawler — endangered by a new redistricting round. 'I feel really sad,' Hochul deadpanned. Lawler, who bowed out of the governor's race this year to run for reelection in his swing House district, wrote on X that her 'political ineptitude lost so many congressional seats in 2022 it gave Republicans control of the House.' The governor's sharp-edged partisanship on redistricting is in contrast to her otherwise moderate positions on taxes and spending. She has resisted calls from left-flank Democrats to raise taxes on rich people. And Hochul is yet to endorse Mamdani, a democratic socialist whose June primary victory over Andrew Cuomo stunned the New York political world.
Yahoo
02-08-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Attorney General James fundraises for Democrats in Clayton
Aug. 1—CLAYTON — The state's top legal official, Attorney General Letitia A. James, paid the north country a visit this week for a fundraising event — netting the local Democratic party committee tens of thousands of dollars for local races. James had no public meetings scheduled during her evening visit, which revolved around a fundraiser at the Clayton Opera House with Congressman Daniel Goldman, D-N.Y., state Sen. Chris J. Ryan, D-Geddes, and Democratic NY-21 Congressional candidate Blake Gendebien. Clayton sits within the NY-24 district, but NY-21 covers the eastern portion of Jefferson County. The fundraiser was branded as a "Blue Wave" fundraiser, and benefited the Jefferson County Democratic Committee. Balcony seats were offered for $100 each, and table seats went for $300. A full table, seating eight people, went for $2,400. According to county Democratic committee chair Corey Decillis, the fundraiser netted about $30,000 for the committee. "That'll go to our local races, our town and village races that we have candidates running in," he said. He said it will also help the committee bank money to help recruit and finance parts of a campaign for a possible county legislature challenge in future elections — the Democrats have no candidates up for a legislature seat in Jefferson County this year. Decillis said Attorney General James came to this region in part because of her involvement in the Sackets Habor immigration case, where a family was taken by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in late March and was slated for removal from the country. Community blowback, which had its profile heightened by the fact that the Trump administration official responsible for immigration policy lives in Sackets Harbor part-time and is a Jefferson County native, was widely perceived by local residents as the reason the family was returned home within weeks. "It resonated with her (James)," Decillis said. "It was near and dear to her heart as well, and she did some behind the scenes stuff for them as well. I think that was what prompted her to come up here and help us raise money." Goldman, the Manhattan Representative, signed up to come as well after meeting Decillis at a fundraiser in Oneida County. After mentioning that James would attend, Decillis said that Goldman offered to come as well. "He's a great speaker, he commands the room," Decillis said. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
12-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Rally in Shenandoah supports labor and unions
Pointing to the Pennsylvania Anthracite Miners Memorial in Shenandoah, former U.S. Congressman Conor Lamb on Saturday spoke about those workers, many of whom were immigrants who came to America willing to take an important and difficult job. The miners portrayed in the monument and their families would relate to today's immigrants who also came here working to make better lives for themselves and their families, Lamb said. He also said the miners would also support today's labor unions, which they helped create. 'Whose side would they be on?,' Lamb asked. The Pittsburgh Democrat was speaking at the Schuylkill Rally to Support Worker's Rights, an event designed to advocate for livable wages, the right to organize, safety enforcement and other labor causes. Former Congressman Conor Lamb speaks during a labor rally at the Anthracite Miners Memorial in Girard Park in Shenandoah, Saturday, July 12, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR) Staged by the Schuylkill County Democratic Committee, the event drew about 60 people and featured Lamb and officials from about a half-dozen local unions. Lamb, a Marine and former assistant U.S. attorney, represented the 17th District in Congress but did not seek re-election to his House seat in 2022 in order to run for the Senate election in Pennsylvania. He finished second in the Democratic primary to eventual winner John Fetterman, and is now in private law practice. On Saturday Lamb asked how many blue-collar workers, whom President Donald Trump had promised during his campaign to focus on, have benefitted from Trump's last seven months in office. More likely, he said, they have suffered from Trump's actions such as removing people from their health insurance, pushing legislation that threatens the future of hospitals and nursing homes, and therefore jeopardizing the jobs of many union workers, Lamb said. Health care is an industry that employs many blue-collar voters, Lamb said. 'But he (Trump) is taking a sledgehammer to it,' he said. Trump has broken his vows to side with the working class and instead is working for the elites, Lamb said. 'He picked Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos and himself, not the people of Schuylkill County,' he said. Liz Bettinger with United Steelworkers speaks during a labor rally at the Anthracite Miners Memorial in Girard Park in Shenandoah, Saturday, July 12, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR) Among the union leaders who spoke was Liz Bettinger of the United Steelworkers, who said that by diminishing safety net programs such as Medicaid and food stamps, the Trump administration was weakening communities. Pennsylvania State Education Association representative Enzo Capozzelli said that Democrats have historically been the pro-union party and continue to be, something that union workers should consider when voting if they want to hold on to their collective bargaining rights, have job security, earn living wages, and a have a dignified retirement. Ron Stabinksy with the United Mine Workers speak sduring a labor rally at the Anthracite Miners Memorial in Girard Park in Shenandoah, Saturday, July 12, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR) United Mineworkers official Ron Stabinsky said by cutting federal job safety positions from offices such as the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Trump is putting American workers at risk, including coal miners. Schuylkill County Commissioner Gary Hess spoke about the importance of organized labor, not just for union members, but for American workers in general, and how it was important to vote for candidates that are pro-union. Among those attending the rally was Jenn Brothers, a former corrections officer from Susquehanna County, who as a Democrat is challenging Republican Dan Meuser for his 9th Congressional District seat. Jenn Brothers, a candidate for Congress, attends a labor rally at the Anthracite Miners Memorial in Girard Park in Shenandoah, Saturday, July 12, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR) 'Labor unions built our country,' she said in support of the rally's message.
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Chairman of Schuylkill Democrats pushes for term limits
Today's political conversations should include less partisan bickering and more effort to find solutions, said Schuylkill County Democratic Committee Chairman Todd Zimmerman. So, Zimmerman is trying to get talk started about an issue he believes Republicans, Democrats and Independents all agree on — term limits. 'I think the majority of Americans share common ground on a lot of issues, including this one,' said Zimmerman, 65, of West Penn Twp. He is hoping to make a push locally, then statewide and nationally, to get laws enacted to limit the number of terms lawmakers can serve and to set a maximum age at which they could run. 'Power corrupts,' he said in a letter he sent to media outlets. 'I generally believe that when people run for government, they want to bring about positive change. However, when they are involved too long, the lines get blurred. Billionaire donors give massive amounts of money to both parties.' It is also time for a younger generation to have a voice in government, he said, pointing to politicians such as Nancy Pelosi and Mitch McConnell, who continued to serve into their 80s, or, Chuck Grassley, who is 91. The best way to bring that about, he said, would be constitutional amendments at the state and federal levels setting term and age limits. He acknowledged that it could be tricky to get enough legislators to agree on specific numbers for term limits, but he wants to get that conversation going. For example, maybe a U.S. representative would be limited to a maximum of 10 two-year terms, and could not run for election after the age of 75, he said. He also proposed that a senator be able to serve a maximum of four six-year terms, and also could not run for election after turning 75. While he is flexible on those details, Zimmerman is convinced that some types of limits are needed, he said. The longer that politicians are in office, he said, the greater the chance that they are beholden to corporations, lobbyists and the ultra-rich who backed them financially, and the less work they are doing for the voters. A survey of Americans by non-partisan Pew Research backed Zimmerman's theory that most voters support congressional term limits and age limits. In the July 2023 survey, 87% of adults favored limiting the number of terms that members of Congress are allowed to serve, including 56% who strongly favored this proposal. Just 12% were opposed. As for maximum age limits for elected officials in Washington, 79% favor them. Regardless, Zimmerman is also correct that getting the state and U.S. constitutions changed will be a long, tough road, said Christopher Borick, political science professor at Muhlenberg College in Allentown. Since the Bill of Rights was passed in 1789 there have been only 17 amendments, Borick said. The last to pass was the 27th Amendment, which declared that if there are changes to Congress's salaries, they will not take effect until the next election of representatives. The bill passed in 1992 after being first proposed in 1789, a span of more than 202 years. So even if Zimmerman were successful at the federal level, it would take years to accomplish, Borick said. Usually, for an amendment to be approved and added to the Constitution, there are two steps: * Two-thirds of both the U.S. Senate and house of representatives approve the amendment. They 'propose' the amendment to the states to be ratified. * The legislatures of three-fourths of the states must ratify the amendment for it to become part of the Constitution. Amending Pennsylvania's constitution is also a complicated process, and for an amendment to include the term and age limits that Zimmerman is seeking would be difficult, Borick said. That is because many of the most powerful Pennsylvania lawmakers have been in office long enough to have already exceeded those limits, meaning they would essentially be legislating themselves out of a job, Borick said. 'It's an uphill battle,' he said. Christopher Borick, political science professor at Muhlenberg College. Still, Borick said that it makes sense for Zimmerman to try what he's doing since it would likely receive widespread voter backing and be looked at favorably by voters. 'Historically, term limits often have received the biggest support among Republicans,' he said. 'So, there is some commonality here across the deep political divide that separates Americans based on partisanship.' The Pennsylvania Democratic and Republican parties did not respond to requests for comment. Zimmerman, an adjunct history professor at Lehigh Carbon and Northampton community colleges, has headed the Schuylkill Democratic committee since 2022. He said his campaign is his personal position, though, and does not reflect that of the party. He also said he would soon like to begin a dialogue with like-minded Republicans, independents and Democrats to start what will be a long process, then host an in-person event this summer to discuss strategy for changing the Pennsylvania and U.S. constitutions. Anyone interested, he said, is welcome to go online to and click on 'contact' to reach him. 'We have to start this, and then I think it will spread,' he said. 'If we can get this done in Pennsylvania, I think other states will follow pretty quickly.'
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Is a Republican who voted against state budget in one of Wisconsin's most flippable seats?
It's fair to say election season is never really over in Wisconsin. Democrats are already looking ahead to the fall 2026 elections, when they'll have more chances to pick up seats in the state Legislature, and perhaps flip control of the state Senate. The State Senate Democratic Committee is already eyeing one competitive seat, held by Republican state Sen. Rob Hutton of Brookfield.'Senator Hutton is in the most flippable Senate seat in Wisconsin,' the SSDC, which works to get Democrats elected to the chamber, posted on X on June 27, 2025. This is all in the context of the state's two-year budget and speculation at the time that Hutton might vote against it. Hutton ultimately voted 'no' on the budget, joining three Republicans and 10 Democrats in the Senate who rejected the full plan because it either spent too much or didn't invest enough in areas like K-12 education. In a statement after his vote, Hutton said the budget would create a deficit, 'putting Wisconsin families in a worse spot for the future.' 'In a time of economic uncertainty, when our spending decisions warrant further restraint and discernment, we need a budget that creates proper spending priorities and puts taxpayers first,' Hutton said. Wisconsin voters are likely to hear lots about toss-up legislative seats and how incumbents voted on policies in the budget. Let's determine whether Hutton's district, which includes communities west of Milwaukee like Brookfield, Wauwatosa, Pewaukee and West Allis, is truly the most competitive. We contacted the SSDC, which said it ran the math based on voting results from the 2024 presidential and Senate elections. Democrats see two other seats as competitive, those held by Sen. Howard Marklein of Spring Green and Sen. Van Wanggaard of Racine. Both Republicans voted for the budget. The question for us is whether Hutton's seat is more competitive than the other two. Based on the committee's math, former Vice President Kamala Harris and U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin carried Hutton's district by a higher percentage than they carried the other two districts. In Hutton's district, about 6,500 more voters cast ballots for Harris than President Donald Trump, compared to around 1,000 in the two other districts. And around 5,400 more voters in Hutton's district voted for Baldwin over Republican candidate Eric Hovde, significantly more than in the other two competitive districts. The SSDC didn't provide a breakdown of the district's voting pattern in the state Supreme Court race, but said liberal Justice Susan Crawford's performance in Hutton's district added to its conclusion. John Johnson, a research fellow at Marquette University, did a similar analysis. His findings confirmed that Harris and Baldwin performed better in Hutton's district than in three other battleground districts. Meanwhile, Johnson found Crawford carried Hutton's district by double digits – Crawford actually had a higher margin in Marklein's district. We're getting way into the details, but all this supports Democrats' claim that Hutton's district is at least one of the two most flippable in Wisconsin. Of course, races for the state Legislature are different than those for president, Senate and state Supreme Court. We can't look at how much Hutton won by in 2024 in his new seat, because he wasn't on the ballot last year. In 2022, when his district lines were different, he won by about seven percentage points. Democratic candidate Sarah Harrison is running against Hutton this time around. She ran for state Assembly in 2024, losing to Republican Rep. Adam Neylon from Pewaukee by about 18 points. PolitiFact Wisconsin asked Hutton for further comment but didn't hear back. The State Senate Democratic Committee said Hutton 'is in the most flippable Senate seat in Wisconsin.' Hutton was one of 53 lawmakers, including Republicans and Democrats, who voted against the state budget. Calculations from the SSDC and an independent researcher confirm Harris and Baldwin carried Hutton's district by a higher percentage than two other competitive districts held by Republicans. And while Crawford performed slightly better in one of those other battlegrounds, she still carried Hutton's district by a significant margin. None of this confirms Hutton's seat will turn blue next year, but it is likely the Senate's most competitive seat. We rate the claim True. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, After an intense election season, the political focus shifts to state races in Wisconsin, Nov. 11, 2024. X, Wisconsin Senate Democrats, June 27, 2025. MacIver Institute, Budget Delay Is an Opportunity for Reform, Sen. Rob Hutton, June 27, 2025. Wisconsin State Legislature, 2025 Senate Vote 81, July 2, 2025. Wisconsin State Senator Rob Hutton, Statement on Budget, July 2, 2025. Wisconsin State Legislature, Senate District 5. Email exchange, Will Karcz, State Senate Democratic Committee communications director, July 1, 2025. Marquette University Law School Faculty Blog, John Johnson, What the Supreme Court Election tells us about Wisconsin's Legislative Districts, June 4, 2025. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 2022 Wisconsin State Senate - District 5 Election Results. WisPolitics, Harrison campaign: Announces bid for Wisconsin State Senate district 5, June 13, 2025. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 2024 Wisconsin General Elections Results - State Assembly District 15. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Legislature passes and Evers signs budget after sprint to get ahead of Trump big bill, July 3, 2025. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Does GOP state budget holdout have most competitive seat in Wisconsin?
