Mark my words, sometime in the near future, the deep-blue state of New York is going to flip red and it’s going to officially be over for the Democratic Party. The hype folks in the state feel for President Donald Trump and his America first agenda continues to grow two months into his administration.
Oh you need proof do you, Mr. Men-Can-Play-Women’s-Sports-As-Long-As-They-Wear-A-Wig? Lucky for you, I have a pretty big piece of evidence that the tide is changing in New York.
A week ago, a GOP candidate won a local race in the town of Southampton, which features a population of around 70,000 located on the outskirts of Long Island. Richard Martel beat the socks off John Leonard for a seat on the governing council of the town was once held by a Democrat.
According to Trending Politics News, with a total of 99 percent of the voted in, Martel earned 53 percent of the votes, allowing him to win by a small margin of several hundred ballots.
Despite its decidedly blue hue, New York has pockets of red that are surprisingly strong — and even growing. Two of Long Island’s three congressmen are Republican, and the borough delivered the largest share of votes for President Donald Trump last November of anywhere in the city.
The western portion of Long Island has long been regarded as a working-class enclave where conservative candidates fare better than its eastern shores. Getaways like Montauk and East Hampton have housed some of the wealthiest liberal residents in coves that are just several minutes’ drive from Southampton. As a region of Long Island, the Hamptons play host to many of the glitziest celebrity endorsers of Kamala Harris’ failed presidential bid, underscoring how notable the Southampton election is to the Hamptons’ voter demographics.
Martel, a Hampton Bays business owner who previously served on the town board from 2020 to 2023, benefited from having previously served on the town council, according to the East Hampton Star. The race was a microcosm of many national issues, including the raging debate over affordable housing and the region’s responsibility to participate in President Trump’s purge of illegal immigrants.
The Republican Party’s victory in Southampton demonstrates that the GOP’s gains int he state are continuing to rise despite former Vice President Kamala Harris defeating Trump in the state 53.4 percent to 46.6 percent. Other areas close by such as Shelter Island and Easthampton also voted for Harris by a two-to-one margin.
While it’s obviously a step in the right direction to pull down a victory in Southampton, the GOP in New York is putting together a strategy to enable them to run more competitive races in the Big Apple starting this year. Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, has become quite fond of the Trump-Vance administration and was the recipient of the president’s DOJ withdrawing a corruption case filed against him.
Adams is considering running for reelection this year, but as a member of the GOP. Wouldn’t that make liberal heads spin and toss up their pea soup? I’d love to see it.
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