Election Notes

Election season is underway and the issues run the gamut from local Five Towns elections to congressional races to statewide offices.

The key issue is whether President Trump and the Republican party will be able to maintain the majority in both the Senate and the House. There are a great deal of moving pieces and hopefuls jockeying for position, and much is at stake.

County Executive Bruce Blakeman

Governor Kathy Hochul

Photo Credit Metropolitan Transportation Authority of the State of New York.

From a statewide perspective, we would love to see Republican Bruce Blakeman beat the incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul in the race for governor. A Blakeman victory in a majority Democrat state would be a great victory for Blakeman, Trump, and of course all of New York.

I’ve stated on numerous occasions that Mr. Blakeman is not really running against Ms. Hochul so much as he’s running against the pro-terror, anti-Israel Mayor Zohran Mamdani. If Hochul wins, she immediately becomes subservient to Mayor Mamdani’s Socialist agenda. New Yorkers asked themselves that question once and came up with the wrong answer. I don’t think we can afford to make that mistake twice.

Jeanine C. Driscoll

Marvin William

Rep Laura Gillen

Here in the 4th Congressional District, there will be a Republican primary on June 23 between two candidates: Jeanine Driscoll, Town of Hempstead Receiver of Taxes, versus U.S. Air Force veteran Marvin Williams. Neither has any name recognition, but both have the advantage of Mr. Blakeman’s vigorous campaign and name recognition. On that level, they are running even. The question remains as to which of the two will be the stronger candidate.

Whoever becomes the Republican candidate will be running against Democrat incumbent, Laura Gillen, in November. Again, that will be a tough race in a majority Democratic state, but then again, their success is tied to how well Mr. Blakeman performs.

Four years ago, former Republican Congressman Lee Zeldin came within a few points of besting Ms. Hochul for governor. The reality is that Kathy Hochul would never have been governor of New York State without the 2021 resignation of Andrew Cuomo. A good run by a strong candidate like Blakeman can send Hochul back to where she came from in Buffalo.

Rep. Tom Suozzi

Donald Trump and Congressional Candidate Mike LiPetri

As far as the race for the House is concerned, Republicans are focused on—and committing significant dollars to—Mike LiPetri’s race against popular incumbent, Tom Suozzi. Again, they are betting on the advertising campaign and popularity of Blakeman on Long Island. Suozzi is rightly concerned. Each and every seat is vital to maintain a Republican majority in both houses of Congress in Washington, DC.

The results of the Tuesday primary elections in California this week demonstrated positive indications for Republicans going forward. The mystery is why the elections were so close given how viscerally the Democrats have been devastating California. Steve Hilton did well and is currently leading the pack in the race for governor. As far as the LA mayoralty, Republican Spencer Pratt came in second against incumbent Karen Bass, but Republicans seem to have a good momentum as we head toward November and Election Day. Stay tuned. 

Read more of Larry Gordon’s articles at 5TJT.com. Follow 5 Towns Jewish Times on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for updates and live videos. Comments, questions, and suggestions are welcome at 5TJT.com and on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.