Though New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo overcame progressive challenger Cynthia Nixon in Thursday night’s gubernatorial primary, he is likely to face a fundamentally transformed state legislature when he returns to office after many of his fellow GOP-collaborating corporate Democrats were trounced by bold left-wing insurgents.
For years, the Independent Democratic Conference (IDC) — a powerful group of New York state senators — caucused with the New York GOP and effectively handed Republicans a majority in the legislature, allowing them to kill progressive legislation.
On Thursday, “invigorated” progressive New Yorkers turned out in record numbers and delivered a major rebuke to this group of deep-pocketed “turncoat” Democrats by upsetting six of the eight IDC members — victories that could help shift the balance of power in Albany to the left.
“If this doesn’t prove that political currency is people over money, I do not know what does,” declared Alessandra Biaggi, a progressive lawyer who toppled prominent state Sen. Jeffrey Klein, former head of the IDC. “We have now cut the head off the IDC snake.”
“The IDC was the vehicle Andrew Cuomo used for eight years to keep Republicans in power. Today, we changed Albany forever,” added Bill Lipton, director of the New York Working Families Party. “He’s going to return to an Albany he doesn’t recognize, where he’s no longer the center of debate. He’s going to have to respond to us.”
While Nixon, attorney general candidate Zephyr Teachout, and lieutenant governor candidate Jumaane Williams — a trio that was viewed as a progressive slate — were all defeated Thursday night, they were credited with driving voter enthusiasm and turnout down the ballot and helping to knock off establishment incumbents.
“This is an incredible moment for progressives, but it’s not just a moment — it’s a movement, and this movement is only growing stronger,” Nixon wrote on Twitter following her loss. “Thank you all for believing and fighting and leaving it all on the field. We started something here in New York, and it doesn’t end today. This is just the beginning. And I know that together, we will win this fight.”
So Cuomo wins, but the state is unrecognizable from when he first took over, and that’s thanks to a progressive movement that has:
1. Crushed his little IDC, so Dems can actually accomplish things in Albany
2. Pulled Cuomo left
3. Extracted a promise he won’t run for president…— Ryan Grim (@ryangrim) September 14, 2018
It’s a very, very big deal that Dem insurgents are going to knock off six or seven state senators. Cuomo is the headline, but the caucus that kept the GOP in control of the state senate has been decapitated. #NYPrimary
— Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) September 14, 2018
In addition to ousting six IDC members in the New York state Senate, the progressive movement also propelled 27-year-old democratic socialist Julia Salazar to victory over corporate Democratic Sen. Martin Dilan, who was not an IDC member but was drowning in cash from the real estate industry.
Salazar — who ran on a platform of combating homelessness in New York and guaranteeing healthcare to all as a right — overcame both a massive fundraising disadvantage and a vile right-wing smear campaign that outed her as a survivor of sexual assault just days before Thursday’s election.
“This is a victory for workers,” Salazar told supporters after her upset win Thursday night. “This is a victory for all of you, who every day have knocked on doors and have had meaningful conversations with our neighbors about these issues.”
Tonight’s victory is not about me.
Tonight’s victory is about New Yorkers coming together and choosing to fight against rising rents and homelessness in our communities.
Together, we will build a better New York.#NY4TheMany pic.twitter.com/Qi3lyjNdoz
— Julia Salazar for State Senate (@SalazarSenate18) September 14, 2018
In a statement on Thursday, the New York City chapter of Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) celebrated the victories of Salazar and other down-ballot progressives as further evidence that New Yorkers “are ready for bold, visionary leadership and will no longer tolerate candidates who are in the pockets of corporations and billionaires.”
“This primary was about the movement of socialists, tenants, immigrants, and working New Yorkers who are ready for a change in Albany,” Bianca Cunningham, co-chair of New York City DSA, said in a statement. “We are excited to hit the ground running with new leadership in Albany to make the priorities of working people a reality.”
We’re not backing down in the face of Trump’s threats.
As Donald Trump is inaugurated a second time, independent media organizations are faced with urgent mandates: Tell the truth more loudly than ever before. Do that work even as our standard modes of distribution (such as social media platforms) are being manipulated and curtailed by forces of fascist repression and ruthless capitalism. Do that work even as journalism and journalists face targeted attacks, including from the government itself. And do that work in community, never forgetting that we’re not shouting into a faceless void – we’re reaching out to real people amid a life-threatening political climate.
Our task is formidable, and it requires us to ground ourselves in our principles, remind ourselves of our utility, dig in and commit.
As a dizzying number of corporate news organizations – either through need or greed – rush to implement new ways to further monetize their content, and others acquiesce to Trump’s wishes, now is a time for movement media-makers to double down on community-first models.
At Truthout, we are reaffirming our commitments on this front: We won’t run ads or have a paywall because we believe that everyone should have access to information, and that access should exist without barriers and free of distractions from craven corporate interests. We recognize the implications for democracy when information-seekers click a link only to find the article trapped behind a paywall or buried on a page with dozens of invasive ads. The laws of capitalism dictate an unending increase in monetization, and much of the media simply follows those laws. Truthout and many of our peers are dedicating ourselves to following other paths – a commitment which feels vital in a moment when corporations are evermore overtly embedded in government.
Over 80 percent of Truthout‘s funding comes from small individual donations from our community of readers, and the remaining 20 percent comes from a handful of social justice-oriented foundations. Over a third of our total budget is supported by recurring monthly donors, many of whom give because they want to help us keep Truthout barrier-free for everyone.
You can help by giving today. Whether you can make a small monthly donation or a larger gift, Truthout only works with your support.