NY Dems don't want to answer this question

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Jul 02, 2024 View in browser   By Jason Beeferman President Joe Biden at a Friday campaign rally. New York Democrats in battleground districts largely sidestepped the question of whether he should step down and hand the nomination to someone else. | Matt Kelley/AP THANK YOU, NEXT: New York Democrats in competitive races are largely avoiding the question of whether President Joe Biden should step aside and give the Democratic nomination to someone else. After his halting debate performance last week, private discussions in Democratic circles in the Beltway have increasingly revolved around whether the president should step down. So far, though, Biden has indicated he’s not going anywhere. But in New York — a state where six competitive House seats may decide control of the chamber and the fate of the country — the Dems are mostly silent. Wary of both alienating themselves from the national party or appearing disingenuous with independent voters, battleground Democrats in New York sidestepped, or flat-out ignored us, when Playbook asked them the question on everyone’s mind: Does Joe need to go? “If there is anyone who should drop out of the Presidential race, it is the convicted felon who tried to overturn the election and wants to criminalize abortion, give more tax breaks to big corporations, and gut Social Security,” Rep. Pat Ryan told Playbook in a statement. He didn’t answer the question of whether Biden should drop out, too. Ryan faces a tough reelection for a Hudson Valley seat he won by just three points two years ago. Earlier today, Rep. Lloyd Doggett became the first Democrat in congress to call on Biden to withdraw. The other seven House Democrats we asked also evaded the query. John Avlon, the Democratic nominee hoping to unseat Republican Rep. Nick LaLota on the eastern end of Long Island, was asked the same question during a Monday CNN interview. “I think panic is not a useful emotion, but I don’t think denial is either,” Avlon said. “The truth is president Biden had a bad debate. But he’s also got a great record.” His spokesperson declined to elaborate further on the question and referred Playbook back to the interview. Maureen O’Toole, a press secretary for the GOP-backed Congressional Leadership Fund called Avlon’s response “mealy-mouthed.” Only Josh Riley, the lawyer and second-time candidate for the state’s 19th district held by Rep. Marc Molinaro, indicated he might prefer to be on a ticket without the 81-year-old president. “Most of the voters I talk to wish they had different options, and they want new leadership,” Riley said in a statement after the debate. “They’re not wrong.” He was the only candidate we asked that didn’t issue at least tacit support for the president. And Democratic House candidate John Mannion, for his part, also (we think) is backing Biden as he takes on GOP Rep. Brandon Williams in the Syracuse area. “President Biden has earned the nomination and the support of the party,” Mannion said. Other Democrats just ignored our questions. The spokesperson for Laura Gillen, who’s hoping to flip Republican Rep. Anthony D’Esposito’s Nassau County seat blue, did not respond to half a dozen emails and texts after initially answering a question about the debate. We’re also still waiting to hear back from Rep. Tom Suozzi and former Rep. Mondaire Jones. Not even the painstakingly press-friendly Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee wanted to talk about this one. Republicans, meanwhile, are reveling in the Democratic uncertainty. “New York Democrats are refusing to answer a simple question because they can’t defend the indefensible,” Chris Russell, a spokesman for Republican Rep. Mike Lawler’s reelection campaign, who’s being challenged by Jones, said in a statement. — Jason Beeferman   Understand 2024’s big impacts with Pro’s extensive Campaign Races Dashboard, exclusive insights, and key coverage of federal- and state-level debates. Focus on policy. Learn more.     From the Capitol Gov. Kathy Hochul and Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado are likely to stick together on the 2026 gubernatorial ticket. | Don Pollard/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul STICKIN’ WITH DELGADO: Hochul gave no indication today she’s ready to switch running mates two years from now when she mounts an expected bid for a second full term. Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado has started to raise his profile this summer, launching a political action committee this week meant to aid Democratic House candidates who are running in swing districts. Delgado himself is a former House member who represented a battleground seat in Hudson Valley. The political activity by Delgado is significant considering the low-key LG has kept a relatively low profile in Albany. But Hochul is showing no qualms with Delgado’s efforts. “I have a very strong relationship with my lieutenant governor,” Hochul told reporters today during an unrelated news conference. “We communicate regularly, he’s doing a phenomenal job traveling the state, promoting some of his signature initiatives.” Hochul knows what it’s like when a governor wants to move on from the No. 2 on the ticket. Then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo tried — and failed — to get Hochul to run for her old House seat in western New York when he was running for a third term in 2018. She refused to leave and subsequently became governor in 2021 following Cuomo’s resignation. But Hochul today also insisted she is focusing on the current election cycle and the November elections in order to help Democrats flip the House. New York is home to an estimated half-dozen swing House seats. She’s spent the last several months working to build up the state party’s infrastructure in order to boost down-ballot Democrats. “I lead the state party and as goes New York so goes the Congress,” she said. — Nick Reisman IN OTHER NEWS... DISBARRED: Rudy Giuliani, the former New York City mayor turned Donald Trump attorney and adviser, was disbarred in the state today for repeatedly making false statements about Trump’s 2020 election defeat. A New York appeals court officially prohibited Giuliani from practicing law. He had previously been suspended. “These false statements were made to improperly bolster respondent’s narrative that due to widespread voter fraud, victory in the 2020 United States presidential election was stolen from his client,” the court wrote in its 31-page decision. “I’m not surprised that I’ve been disbarred by a Bar Ass’n which is a politically and ideologically integral part of the Democrat one party corrupted court system,” Giuliani responded on social media. State Sen. Brad Holyman-Sigal, who had filed a 2021 grievance request that Giuliani be disbarred, said in a statement that today’s decision “sends a powerful message to attorneys across New York State that they are admitted to the bar not just to practice law, but to uphold it.” — Emily Ngo — DONALD’S DELAY: Trump’s New York sentencing will be delayed until at least Sept. 18 as he seeks to toss his conviction after the Supreme Court immunity ruling. (POLITICO) — TRUMP’S DECONGESTANT: Trump said that he would eliminate a congestion pricing toll during his first days back in office should he be reelected. That’s putting pressure on lawmakers who still see a future for the program and now want to resolve this before then. (Gothamist) — DID THAT EVEN HAPPEN?: Mayor Eric Adams warned of the need for “painful” cuts ten months ago. On Sunday, the City Council finalized a $112 billion budget that restores hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts. Is this New York City’s fiscal crisis that never was? (Bloomberg) Missed this morning’s New York Playbook? Read it here.   Follow us on Twitter Jason Beeferman @JasonBeeferman   Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook  |  Playbook PM  |  California Playbook  |  Florida Playbook  |  Illinois Playbook  |  Massachusetts Playbook  |  New Jersey Playbook  |  New York Playbook  |  Brussels Playbook  |  London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters Follow us

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