George Latimer. John Avlon. John Mannion. Tuesday night was a victory for New York Democrats who are eager to play it safe this November. They want to retake power in the House and ensure there are no liabilities that could hurt President Joe Biden’s reelection chances. New York, home to a half-dozen swing seats, was decisive two years ago in handing House Republicans their narrow majority as GOP candidates swept pivotal races on Long Island and in the Hudson Valley. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries doesn’t want the same debacle this year standing in his way of becoming speaker. The trio of white, male Democrats notched victories in New York as the party has sought to orient itself closer to the political center. But doing so came with millions of dollars in spending from AIPAC on Latimer’s behalf and the unusual intervention of Democratic Party leaders to put their thumb on the scale for Avlon. The results are no guarantee that electability will prevail in November. Democrats must still contend with voters who continue to raise concerns over crime and the migrant crisis — two issues Republicans will hammer them on. Here are four takeaways from Tuesday’s results: A plea for unity: Republicans are not sad to see Rep. Jamaal Bowman, a Squad firebrand, go down in defeat. “Our nation will be stronger with a Congress no longer disgraced by his presence,” former Rep. Lee Zeldin said. But the trendlines could spell trouble for the GOP — even if the Westchester-Bronx seat won’t be competitive in the fall. Latimer’s victory speech was of a larger theme: Moderate Democrats want a rebrand that distances itself from the far left, especially in suburban districts that could decide the House majority. He insisted his win was a blow against both extremes in a polarized country. “There are good men and women in Washington who feel the way we do,” he said. “We have to look at the arguments of the far right and the far left and say you cannot destroy this country with your rhetoric.” Falling in line: Democratic Party leaders really wanted Avlon to win. And many — state Chair Jay Jacobs and Reps. Tom Suozzi, Greg Meeks and Dan Goldman among them — took the unusual step of endorsing him in what became a bitter contest against Nancy Goroff. Avlon, a former CNN host, is a relative newcomer to the district. (Republican Rep. Nick LaLota’s campaign has delighted in the Democrat’s faux pas of saying “in Long Island”). And the district, formerly held by Zeldin, will be a tough one for Avlon to flip this November. But backing a former Rudy Giuliani speechwriter from his 1990s mayoralty shows how Democratic Party leaders are eager to be competitive in this district, and they aren’t willing to write it off. Staying competitive: Mannion will face freshman Republican Rep. Brandon Williams for a Syracuse-area House seat widely seen as one of the most competitive in the country. And Mannion is familiar with close calls: He flipped a GOP-held state Senate in 2020. He narrowly won a second term by 10 votes. “I’m battle-tested. I’ve won tough elections,” he told POLITICO’s Bill Mahoney in an interview. He’ll enter the general election with teacher union support — a powerful organizing tool in a district where Democrats have struggled to be competitive. Lefties did better down the ballot: The New York Working Families Party went all out for Bowman and stayed late Tuesday with him in Yonkers as he lost his reelection bid, but they had much more to celebrate when it came to state legislative races. Co-director Jasmine Gripper noted that all the WFP-endorsed incumbents facing challenges from the political right were victorious and the left-leaning party had three pickups: Gabriella Romero, Larinda Hooks and Claire Valdez. (It takes a lot to beat an incumbent. Embattled Assemblymember Juan Ardila, who fell to Valdez, was the only one to lose across the state.) “It means a stronger bloc when it comes to having to deal with tough things like congestion pricing and if housing reform comes back up again,” Gripper told Playbook. “And building a bloc of progressives means we’re going to get more stuff done in Albany, like raising taxes on the ultra-rich, protecting school funding and expanding climate justice.” — Nick Reisman and Emily Ngo IT’S WEDNESDAY. Got news? Send it our way: Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman.
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