The ballot is stronger than the bullet.

Abraham Lincoln

Party primaries are now the most consequential elections in American politics, especially when one party controls both the governor’s office and the legislative chamber (a trifecta) . This is true whether it is the Republican Party in Texas or the Democratic Party in New York. Primary results tell us what is happening within each political party. What fractions within each party dominate at the poll? Who are voters drawn to? Neither Republican nor Democratic candidates for Congress are seen by most voters as having the right priorities, according to a recent poll. Where do your Congressional candidates stand on the issues that matter to you?

Never have state elections been more important than today. The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade will create two Americas when it comes to abortion access — the mostly red states where abortion is illegal in most circumstances, and the mostly blue states where it is mostly available with restrictions. But this sudden cleaving in the United States will go far beyond abortion access, affecting healthcare, the criminal legal system and politics, at all levels, in the coming years. What are the ideas, policies and focus of your state senate candidates?

As political scientist Larry Sabato states, every election is determined by the people who show up. It remains to be seen if abortion rights, reproductive freedom and privacy will drive voters to the polls in the primaries and the general election. Get involved at all levels for GOTV campaigns.

The New York Congressional and State Senate Primary
August 23, 2022

Deadlines 

Friday, July 29 2022 
Voter Registration Deadline
Monday, August 8 2022
Absentee Ballot Request deadline
Saturday August 13 – Sunday August 21 2022
Early Voting

Registration, Absentee Ballots, Early Voting and Election Sites

New York City Register To Vote
New York City Absentee Ballot,
New York City Early Voting
New York City Election Day Voting Sites

Nassau County Board of Elections (for all information)

Suffolk County Board of Elections (for all information)

New York State’s Second Primary August 23

As stated in an earlier post, a court released final maps after Democratic drawn congressional and state maps were tossed by the states highest court. My Congressional District number changed , and my present State Senator is not running again in my State Senate District. Use this link to confirm  what your Congressional, State Senate and State Assembly districts are now.

Congressional Races

New York State has 26 Congressional Districts. Find out who is running in your Congressional District

City & State New York has done an extensive analysis of who is running for Congress throughout New York State . We have some of the country’s hottest primaries, including an open seat on Wall Street, a career veteran showdown in Central Park and three open seats on Long Island. At the same time, two Aug. 23 special elections, in the Hudson Valley and Western New York, could serve as a preview for November.

State Senate Races

New York has 63 re-drawn State Senate Districts. Find out who is running in your State Senate District. Another source lists the status of incumbents and confirmed candidates.

 There are several competitive State Senate races taking place for New York State Senate. Several incumbents are facing tough primary challenges while others have had to adjust to newly drawn district lines encompassing neighborhoods they did not previously represent. Some sitting senators even had to decide whether to shift their residence to continue running in familiar territory or face the unpredictability of their new districts. These races include those in New York City, Nassau and Suffolk County, in addition to upstate counties.

Decision Making Time

I encourage each voter to gather information on the candidates in their district as I did below for my candidates. Explore their social media pages, in addition to public media coverage. Ask questions at public meetings and fund raising events. Research what’s in the news, candidate websites, past history, endorsements, and listen to primary debates to help you decide who would best represent you in the upcoming August 23 Primary.

My Congressional District 10 Candidates (Updated September 12)

Primary Results

Dan Goldman won with 25.8% of the votes He will be facing Republican Benine Hamdan on November 8

Luh-Line Niou was second with 23.7% of the votes
Mondaire Jones came in third with 18.2%

History of this race

There were 10 people running for this position. 

Nine candidates appeared before several Brooklyn political clubs answering questions about pressing issues in the district, their policy platforms, and more. Former Rep Elizabeth Holzman was not in attendance. Attorney Maud Maron was not invited by the political clubs. I’ve linked the candidates below to their campaign sites for more information about their experience and platforms. 

Rep. Mondaire Jones (who currently represents a Hudson Valley district but recently moved to Brooklyn to run in NY-10)
Former small business owner Brian Robinson
Former certified teacher Jimmy Jiang Li
Data Analyst Quanda Francis
Assemblymembers Yuh-Line Niou 
Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon 
City Council Member Carlina Rivera
Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Dan Goldman
Former Rep. Elizabeth Holtzman
Attorney Maud Maron

Endorsements: Find out who’s backing who in the competitive open seat race to represent parts of lower Manhattan and Brooklyn in the House of Representatives.

Who is in the lead? As of August 8, two women with local bona fides but little national stature have surged toward the front of the pack, upending early conventional wisdom and scrambling the race. In recent public and internal polling for the Democratic primary, Carlina Rivera, a councilwoman from Manhattan, and Yuh-Line Niou, a Manhattan assemblywoman, are running neck-and-neck with the two well-resourced men considered heavyweights: Representative Mondaire Jones, a recent transplant to the district, and Daniel Goldman, the impeachment investigator, who has never held elective office.

Primary Debates Candidates Mondaire Jones, Carlina Rivera, Brian Robinson, Dan Goldman, Yuh-Line Niou, Liz Holtzman, Maud Maron, Jo Anne Simon, Quanda Francis, and Jimmy Li participated in PoliticsNY’s Democratic primary debate in the race to represent New York’s tenth congressional district. This offers a good opportunity to hear where the candidates stand on important issues.

NY1/WNYC 10th Congressional District Debate was aired on August 10. The top six candidates were able to articulate why they believe their experience and strengths would serve our district well.

“The pandemic put leaders to the test, and voters should take note of who stepped up.” POLITICO asked the top six NY-10’s Democratic primary candidates where they spent 2020 while Covid was shaking the lives of New Yorkers.

NY State Senate District 26 Candidates (updated September 12)

Primary Results

Andrew Gounardes won with 64.15% of the votes He will be facing Republican Brian Fox on November 8

David Yassky came in second with 32.6%

History of this race

Redistricting put two veteran politicians head to head in an uncertain primary race in this newly drawn 26th District. David Yassky had represented the 33rd City Council for seven years and it had included Greenpoint, Williamsburg, DUMBO, Boerum Hill, Brooklyn Heights and Park Slope. Andrew Gounardes has represented the neighborhoods of Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst, Bath Beach, Manhattan Beach and Marine Park.

State Senator Andrew Gounardes Here are his community leaders and organizations’ endorsements.

Former City Council Member David Yassky He received the endorsement of Independent Neighborhood Democrats. I’m unable to find a list of endorsements from community leaders and organizations on his website. Will update when I do. Yassky was called out for fake endorsements in July.

Both candidates have shared their vision, priorities, and plans in the Gotham Gazette, an online publication covering New York policy and politics.

A primary debate for the State Senate District 26 was sponsored by Politics NY. Each candidate was able to express their point of view on issues such as public safety, property taxation and affordability, education, jobs, health care affordability, water front challenges, and child care crisis.

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