New York Democrats are growing increasingly concerned that their historically deep blue state is now in play after recent polls put former President Donald Trump within single digits of President Joe Biden, according to Politico.
Two polls conducted in a swing New York House district in September and March found Trump leading Biden by one point, while other public polling conducted in recent months found Biden’s lead over the former president statewide shrunk to eight points, Politico reported. Biden won the state in the 2020 election by 23 points, but Democratic leaders are now reportedly urging his team to reallocate resources to boost both his campaign and the candidates running in swing districts.
“We’re still acting like this is a one-party state, which for pretty much 20, 25 years it has been,” Democratic Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine told Politico. “I truly believe we’re a battleground state now.”
“It’s never been more important for a Democratic House member to focus on building their own local brand and to run on that,” a high-level New York Democrat told Politico anonymously. “Biden isn’t going to be handing out coattails no matter what. He’s only got anchors.”
Democratic New York Rep. Jerry Nadler and Rep. Joe Morelle backed the idea of replacing Biden during a Sunday conference call with other House Democrats.
A tight race in New York would take time and money away from being spent in the nation’s six battleground states, Politico reported.
“The money that needs to be spent here will be subtracted from other areas he’s going to lose,” former Democratic Gov. David Paterson of New York told Politico.
Republicans managed to flip four congressional seats in New York in 2022, and Republican gubernatorial challenger Lee Zeldin lost by less than 6% compared to the double digit losses Republicans experienced in previous cycles.
“If I’m a Democrat in some of these suburban races, I’d run the hell away from Joe Biden,” Laura Curran, former Nassau County executive, told Politico.
Trump’s nationwide lead over Biden increased to six points among likely voters after the CNN debate, according to The New York Times/Siena poll, marking his largest lead in the poll since 2015.
Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas was the first Congressional Democrat to publicly urge Biden to drop out. Several other Democratic members have also backed replacing Biden as their candidate ahead of the election.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, however, have publicly come out in support of Biden’s candidacy.
Biden’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Featured Image Credit: Flickr/Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz
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