Ross Barkan is a Nation contributing writer. He also writes a column on national politics for The Guardian and is a contributing writer at New York magazine.
Nominating a Latino conservative as chief judge might have seemed like a clever triangulation. Instead, New York’s governor has only underlined the limits of her power.
Republican Lee Zeldin is pro-Trump, anti-choice, and running in a state Joe Biden carried by 23 percent—yet recent polls put him within the statistical margin of error of pulling off a stunning upset.
He’s the obvious favorite. But in an exclusive interview with The Nation, the former mayor recognizes that his road to political redemption might not be all downhill.
For national Democrats counting on the state’s redistricting to help hold the House, the latest electoral maps, which pit progressives against each other in several districts, are a real gut punch.
With New York’s lieutenant governor out of action, the path to power for veteran activist Ana María Archila just got a lot easier. But only if supporters can raise the funds that will allow her to compete effectively.