Democrats Win Special Election, Lose Two Incumbents in New York Primary

Democrats win a closely-watched New York special election, two Democratic incumbents lose reelection, and other takeaways from the New York, Florida, and Oklahoma primaries.

Summary

Democrats won a closely-watched special election, lost two incumbents and picked their candidate to take on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in Tuesday’s primaries.

• Democrat Pat Ryan won a special election in New York’s Hudson Valley, defeating Republican Marc Molinaro with 51 percent. Ryan defended a district President Joe Biden narrowly carried in 2020, giving Democrats hope ahead of November’s midterm elections.
• Rep. Jerry Nadler, the House Judiciary Committee chairman, crushed his longtime colleague Rep. Carolyn Maloney, the Chair of the House Oversight Committee, by a 55%-24% margin in the Democratic primary for New York’s 12^th District in Manhattan.
• Dan Goldman, Trump impeachment counsel and heir to the Levi Strauss fortune, turned back a crowded field of Democrats including first-term Rep. Mondaire Jones to win the Democratic primary for New York’s 10^th District in Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn.
• Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, the Democratic campaign chief, defeated progressive state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi in the Democratic primary for New York’s 17^th District while neighboring Rep. Jamaal Bowman, an outspoken progressive, turned back a more moderate challenger.
• In New York’s southwest corner, state G.O.P. chair Nick Langworthy defeated 2010 gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino, known for a long history of racist and inflammatory public statements, in the G.O.P. primary for the safe Republican district.
• Republican Joe Sempolinski won a special election in a heavily Republican Western New York seat but underperformed former President Donald Trump’s 2020 margins.
• Democratic Congressman Charlie Crist, the former G.O.P. governor and 2014 Democratic nominee for governor of Florida won the Democratic nomination to take on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. DeSantis has outraised Crist by approximately $130 million and is favored to win reelection.
• Orlando-area Democrats picked a 25-year-old gun control activist, Maxwell Alejandro Frost, over a longtime state senator and two former members of Congress to succeed Biden veep finalist Val Demings in the House. Demings gave up the safely-blue 10^th District to challenge Sen. Marco Rubio.

• The New York Times covered Jerry Nadler’s “rout” of Carolyn Maloney in Tuesday’s “marquee showdown,” a race “unlike any New York City – or the Democratic Party writ large – had seen in recent memory.”
• The Washington Post took a bird’s eye view of Tuesday’s results and noted Democrats nominated more established candidates aligned with party leadership for governor and Congress in both New York and Florida.
• CNN’s coverage focused on Florida, specifically the Sunshine State’s titanic battles for governor and Senate. Democrats hope Charlie Crist can “derail” DeSantis before he can run for president in 2024, while Democratic Senate candidate Val Demings has consistently outraised incumbent Marco Rubio.

• FOX News covered former President Donald Trump’s glee after his endorsed candidates – many of whom were in no danger of losing reelection – went “26 and 0” in Tuesday’s primary election. Trump-backed Rep. Markwayne Mullin is likely headed to the U.S. Senate from Oklahoma, while both of his sarcastic Democratic endorsements – Jerry Nadler and Dan Goldman – emerged victorious.
• National Review assessed the state of the Florida Republican Party after Tuesday’s primaries and the Mar-a-Lago raid. The author argued the Raid helped elevate Trump among Republicans and damaged DeSantis, while Crist’s solid primary victory could portend a competitive general election.
• The Washington Examiner highlighted Rep. Dan Webster’s surprisingly narrow primary victory over right-wing attention-seeker and self-described “Islamophobe” Laura Loomer. Webster’s weak performance may encourage a less exotic challenger for 2024.

On Your Radar

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Twitter Comes Under Washington Spotlight With Whistleblower Complaint (Wall Street Journal)

Biden set to announce details of student loan relief after months of intense internal debate (CNN)

Ocasio-Cortez admits to violating congressional financial disclosure rules (Washington Examiner)

Video captures 130-foot superyacht sinking off the southern coast of Italy (Washington Post)

Finnish PM Sanna Marin defends work record, right to private life (New York Post)

A Reliable Source of Concern (Slate)

Minneapolis Schools and Teachers’ Union Target White Educators (National Review)

An Illegal Immigrant Tried To Kill His Ex While Out on Bail. This Soft-on-Crime Candidate Voted To Let It Happen Again. (Free Beacon)

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© Dominic Moore, 2022