Local races 2019/2020

I want to talk about a local election that’s an interesting reflection of the change we’re seeing in blue states. It’s my New York State Senate seat, District 55. The Republican holding the seat is your average white man, Rich Funke, who retired rather than face the living hell of being in the minority now that the NY Senate is majority Democrat. Funke is anti-choice and a bit of a tool, but he’s popular due to being a former TV sportscaster. This is a very white (77%) suburban district and Funke won in 2018 52/48 against a good candidate, Jen Lunsford. In 2016 he ran unopposed, and in 2014 he soundly beat the Democratic incumbent, Ted O’Brien (59/41).

After Funke’s retirement, the Republican party ran a 39 year-old male, white lawyer and Army vet, and the Democrats ran Samra Brouk, a 34 year-old black woman whose previous qualifications include doing fundraising for a non-profit. I listened to a debate between the two and she’s razor sharp and quite progressive. Still, I was doubting that she could win a district that recently rejected a couple of good Democrats.

I was wrong: it was 52/48 Brouk, a result that I would not have predicted even in my more optimistic moments.

I would chalk this one up to suburban moms, just as I’ve chalked up other recent Democratic wins in my town, which was formerly a Republican stronghold for the town, county and state legislative offices (even though it consistently voted for Democratic federal and statewide candidates.) Trump has turned the letter “R” after someone’s name in any election into a poison pill, and those moms have a solid turnout operation.

I’ll also add that Brouk won despite some of the most ugly, racist TV ads I’ve seen in a long time. They showed pictures from some rioting in Rochester side-by-side with her face and basically insinuated that she supported the riots. These ads, like most New York Republican ratfucking, aired a few days before the election and have disappeared from sight.

Here’s a thread to report on local races in your area.

One Little StoryPost + Comments (62)

Elise Stefanik is 35 years old. As a representative from one of the most rural, but certainly not the most conservative (R+4), districts in New York, NY-21, she would have had a long career as a Republican when Republicans were a little bit more sane. Unfortunately for her and the country, Republicans are insane, so she faced a choice: go crazy with them, or kiss your seat goodbye. We all know what happened next: her actions on the Intelligence committee were essentially indistinguishable from Gym Jordan’s, and her antics made her a Fox News star.

This is old news, but I thought those of you who enjoy old school (read: good) small town newspapering might enjoy today’s commentary from the editor of the Glen Falls, NY Post-Star, Ken Tingley. I don’t want to ruin it by giving an excerpt, but here’s the background in a pair of tweets from Stefanik’s opponent, Tedra Cobb:

You’ll need to answer an annoying question from Google to read the piece, but why not put 1/10 of a cent into their kitty? I think they need it. More on local news from Margaret Sullivan at the Post if the subject interests you.

When There’s Nothing Left to Burn You Have To Set Yourself on FirePost + Comments (56)