Politics

Albany Democrats poised for biggest leadership shake-up in years

Published

4 months ago

June 10, 2026

New York Senate Deputy Majority Leader Mike Gianaris will be departing from the legislature opening the seat for a new floor leader.

MAJOR SHIFT: Last week’s conclusion of Albany’s legislative session left Democratic state lawmakers poised for the biggest shakeup in their ranks since they assumed one-party control in 2019.

Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes is retiring at the end of the year, opening up the No. 2 job for only the second time since Carl Heastie became speaker 11 years ago.

State Sen. Mike Gianaris is on his way out too. His departure will leave open the role of Democratic Senate Campaign Committee chair, which he’s held since he was a senator-elect in 2010. It will also pave the way for a new floor leader and Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins’ deputy.

On top of that, Senate Democrats are about to become the first conference in state history to bump up against term limits.

Rules enacted in 2009 imposed eight-year caps on the majority leader and committee chairs. No party has remained in power long enough to be impacted since then, but the rules will soon apply to Stewart-Cousins and up to a dozen of her members.

“I’d probably have to,” state Sen. Liz Krueger said when asked if she’d vote to scrap the term limits. “Because it would mean Andrea couldn’t remain leader. And I do not actually accept the concept where Andrea doesn’t remain leader.”

Krueger is one of seven impacted chairs surveyed in recent months who unanimously said they want Stewart-Cousins to remain. But Democrats haven’t yet settled on what should happen to other top jobs.

“It’s really a question of ‘do you change all the term limits for everybody while you’re changing them for leadership, or do you allow for some new opportunities at the committee level?’” Investigations and Government Operations Committee Chair James Skoufis said. “I don’t know where I land on that.”

“The level of expertise I’ve developed, it’s not because I’m better or smarter than anyone else, I’ve just been in it longer,” state Sen. Gustavo Rivera said of the “deep and dark and mysterious” realm of policy he oversees as Health Committee Chair. “I would be hard pressed to find somebody in the Senate who would be able to do the job on day one.”

Gianaris’ departure might lead to widespread shuffling, regardless. And while Krueger is running again, she missed the conclusion of this year’s session after an April stroke. It remains to be seen whether she’ll return to the grueling job of being the top Democrat on the Finance Committee as she’s been since 2011 — possibly leading to more musical chairs at the top.

Stewart-Cousins said she’s looking for a deputy “who can bring the same types of talents and skills that Sen. Gianaris has brought.” Names that came up in surveys of legislators and lobbyists include state Sens. Jamaal Bailey, Andrew Gounardes and Shelley Mayer. Still, there isn’t a widespread consensus.

There’s more agreement over who might replace Peoples-Stokes. Upstaters have held the job since 1979, providing some balance to speakers from New York City over the years. The pick will need to be somebody who can work well with Heastie, and conventional wisdom holds they should have a good amount of tenure. Over a dozen insiders mentioned the same three names as fitting each of those criteria: Syracuse’s Pamela Hunter, Rochester’s Harry Bronson and Albany’s John McDonald.

Heastie, however, isn’t making a firm commitment to tradition.

“The requirement that the majority leader comes from upstate, that’s more of a y’all thing,” he told reporters. “I inherited a great majority leader who happened to be upstate in Joe Morelle, one of my closest friends. And then Crystal was somebody I knew even before I was elected, and she’s been amazing. But I don’t know if I feel limited to if it’d have to be somebody from upstate. It could be Long Island, it could be the Hudson Valley — I haven’t even really thought about it.” — Bill Mahoney

From the Capitol

The Public Campaign Finance Board issued $2 million in payments to nine candidates before the June 23 primary.

MONSERRATE LEADS PACK: The state’s Public Campaign Finance Board issued $1.96 million in matching funds payments Tuesday, marking the final day such outlays will be issued before the June 23 primary.

The scandal-plagued Hiram Monserrate was the state’s top beneficiary of public funds this week.

He’s running to return to the state Senate against the incumbent state Sen. Jessica Ramos and Assemblymember Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas. Monserrate is the only sitting legislator to be removed by his colleagues in the past century, following his 2009 misdemeanor conviction arising from a domestic violence incident. Since then, this is his ninth comeback bid.

Overall, his haul trails the $348,000 in matching funds that Gonzalez-Rojas has received to date. Ramos has taken in $128,000 in recent months.

FROM CITY HALL

New York City Council members hosted a rally with advocates in support of Fair Fares last May.

BROKEN PROMISES?: Transit advocates are intensifying their pressure on Mayor Zohran Mamdani to set aside more money to lower bus and subway fares. Groups of straphangers, like Riders Alliance, are now portraying the mayor as a promise breaker if he doesn’t support an expansion of the Fair Fares program, which offers discounts to low-income New Yorkers.

“New Yorkers are hurting, especially low-income commuters whose work we all depend on, and this is the mayor’s last chance to lower costs for transit this year, after emphasizing the importance of affordable public transit for his entire career,” Riders Alliance spokesperson Danny Pearlstein said in a text message.

Free buses was one of Mamdani’s three most prominent campaign pledges — alongside child care for all and a rent freeze — but the one he’s seemed to make the least headway on.

Riders Alliance, along with City Council members Tiffany Caban, Shahana Hanif and others, is holding a rally at noon tomorrow outside City Hall to “demand” the mayor “keep his promise to lower costs” — more pointed language than advocates have used publicly in the past.

While Mamdani’s free bus plan is on hold in large part because Albany isn’t on board, the City Council has backed more money for Fair Fares. The mayor, however, is reluctant to take that path because he generally doesn’t support policies where access is based on how much money people make. — Ry Rivard

WORKING THE REFS: Mamdani has a bone to pick about the officiating at Monday’s NBA finals game, which the Knicks lost to the Spurs.

“Crime is going down in New York City, but what we saw the other night did feel criminal,” Mamdani quipped to reporters today. “You just look at the disparity on fouls that were being called. I think many New Yorkers came away from that game with a very clear reflection of the absence of fair refereeing.”

Despite the mayor’s fandom, Madison Square Garden, the home of the Knicks, released a statement Tuesday calling Mamdani and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch “party poopers” for instituting tighter security for a watch party outside the arena tonight.

Asked about it, Mamdani said the level of security planned is “in line with the measures that the NYPD uses for gatherings of this size, whether it be July 4 or New Year’s Eve.”

“This team has brought an extraordinary amount of energy, pride, excitement to every corner of our city,” the mayor said. “We want this to be a memorable night for all the right reasons.”

A watch party scheduled outside MSG for Game 3 on Monday night was moved to Bryant Park thanks to President Trump attending the game.

Asked whether he holds Trump responsible for the Knicks’ loss, Mamdani laughed — but declined to blame the president.

“I’ve made clear my complaints about the refs,” Mamdani said. “I’m hopeful tonight we’re going to see a different game.” — Janaki Chadha

FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL

Mayor Zohran Mamdani told reporters Wednesday that he has not seen the controversial tweets that have drawn scrutiny for NY-13 candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier.

WHAT TWEETS?: Darializa Avila Chevalier, Mamdani’s pick to unseat Rep. Adriano Espaillat, has come under plenty of fire for her old social media posts.

Mamdani claims he hasn’t seen them.

The posts in question include tweets where Chevalier wrote “F—k Kamala Harris,” criticized black and Arab men for “fetishizing ugly colonizer women,” and described wiping her hand on the American flag. They’re the subject of an Espaillat ad in which a narrator says, “Meet the real Darializa, the one she tried to delete.”

Asked about her social media imprint, Mamdani told reporters, “No, I have not seen those tweets.”

“What I’ve heard from her, and what I know a lot of others in the district have heard from her, is that her views have evolved, and that the campaign that she’s running on is reflective of what she’s going to be fighting for,” Mamdani said.

The mayor has opted against endorsing in other races, including the one for the Manhattan congressional seat being vacated by retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler.

Gracie Mansion is in that district, and while Mamdani said he plans to vote in the Democratic primary, he has not yet decided on who he’ll back. The candidates include Assemblymembers Micah Lasher and Alex Bores, Kennedy scion Jack Schlossberg and Trump critic George Conway.

“I’m one of those classic yet-to-make-a-decision voters that frustrate campaigns so dearly,” the mayor said. — Janaki Chadha

IN OTHER NEWS

— THERE’S NO ‘I’ IN TEAM: Brad Lander says he is not endorsing fellow congressional challenger Darializa Avila Chevalier, despite putting out a joint “Mamdani’s team” ad with her. (Jewish Insider)

— DIY BALLOT LINE: Shut out of major third party endorsements, candidates for NY-21 Republican Anthony Constantino and Democrat Blake Gendebien are battling in court over the validity of their made up ballot line names. (Times Union)

— NO EASY EXIT: Uber is suing New York City to block a new driver protection law, arguing it would force the company to keep dangerous drivers on the road. (Reuters)

Missed this morning’s New York Playbook? We forgive you. Read it here.

Politics

Two Dans, four choices, one big headache for GOP in Alaska Senate race

Published

21 minutes ago

October 20, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

ANCHORAGE — Alaska Republicans have railed for years against ranked-choice voting. Now some worry it could cost them in a critical Senate race.

GOP Sen. Dan S. Sullivan is facing not only well-known former Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola in the four-way general-election field, but a same-name challenger who Republicans think could siphon votes from him in the close contest.

Some GOP operatives fear the senator will lose first-choice votes to retired teacher Dan J. Sullivan Jr. — and that supporters of his longshot rival might not rank the incumbent at all in the state’s unusual election system where voters can pick backup options that get counted if no candidate clears 50% of the initial vote. Two recent polls that simulated ranked-choice tabulations showed Peltola as the victor.

Art Hackney, a Sullivan ally who runs a super PAC boosting the senator, said Dan J. Sullivan is “going to get a percent of the vote” and warned it could be “potentially” be “significant in terms of impacting” the result of the race.

“Sullivan can win … but it makes it a heck of a lot harder,” added a Republican operative working on other Alaska races. “It’s what the race is going to come down to: If he loses, it’ll for sure be because of that. And if he wins, it’ll be in spite of that.”

Republicans have for years bemoaned the system that allows voters to rank their preference and eliminates candidates until one reaches a majority as “costly” and “confusing,” and argue it has undercut their party. Top Republicans like outgoing GOP Gov. Mike Dunleavy and President Donald Trump have urged voters to repeal the system via a ballot measure this fall after a previous effort failed two years ago.

“Even if he gets a percent or 2% or 3% percent with the phony ranked choice stuff, you never know what they’re going to do with it,” Trump said of Dan J. Sullivan in a rally in Wasilla last week, adding that it “could be the difference.”

It’s happened before: Peltola benefitted in her House win from a split GOP field, while Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) warded off a Trump-backed challenger in 2022 partly because of ranked-choice voting. Alaska Republicans are also fretting about the governor’s race this year, where three GOP candidates are competing, urging voters to “rank the red.”

Dan J. Sullivan, Heikes and Peltola’s campaign did not respond to requests for comment.

The similarly named Sullivans are separated on the ballot by their middle initials and party affiliation (the incumbent is listed as a Republican, the challenger without a party).

But the senator and his allies aren’t taking any chances.

They’re employing several of the tactics Murkowski used during her successful 2010 write-in campaign, including giving out rubber wristbands branded with the senator’s name and party affiliation, and airing a radio jingle with the NRSC.

“Dan S. is your No. 1,” the jingle goes. “If he’s not, rank him second, don’t throw your vote away. Dan S., Daniel, Gerry — just don’t rank Mary.”

“Dan S. Sullivan has two opponents in this race: Democrat Mary Peltola, and the ranked choice system she and her allies have deceptively manipulated to her advantage,” said Nate Adams, a spokesperson for the senator. “But our campaign is confident that Alaskans aren’t confused. They know the real Dan, and we’re making sure every voter can find him: ballot facsimiles on every mailer, voters reached at the door and on the phone, and even a jingle.”

Those pushing to keep ranked-choice voting in Alaska argue the system helps mitigate the so-called spoiler effect. The group behind this year’s repeal measure said in an email that it’s a nonpartisan effort focused solely on eliminating the system.

Outside GOP groups boosting Sullivan like Americans for Prosperity Action and Club for Growth Action have been urging voters at doors and via mailers to rank the incumbent first, a slightly different approach than Sullivan’s campaign. “Make Republican Incumbent DAN S. SULLIVAN your 1ST CHOICE and ONLY CHOICE,” read one Club for Growth Action mailer seen by Blue Light News, a slightly different approach than Sullivan’s campaign.

“In a tight election, it doesn’t take a ton of people to get confused to possibly change the trajectory and the outcome,” said Kevin Greene, senior adviser for AFP Action in Alaska.

A version of this article first appeared in Blue Light News Pro’s Morning Score. Want to receive the newsletter every weekday? Subscribe to Blue Light News Pro.

Politics

Democrats’ Musk-ask questions

Published

4 hours ago

October 20, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Democrats’ Musk-ask questions

lead image

Politics

Pritzker’s big spending for Black and Hispanic candidates is drawing notice

Published

5 hours ago

October 20, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

CHICAGO — JB Pritzker is pouring tens of millions of dollars of his own money into boosting Black and Hispanic candidates this cycle. That could help him win over critical voters in 2028.

The billionaire Illinois governor — who’s also considered a potential presidential contender — is investing at least $38 million in battleground races, according to a person familiar with the governor’s political strategy granted anonymity to discuss details.

Much of that spending has gone to candidates of color, some of whom haven’t drawn much other investment from national Democrats. Pritzker is also investing in races in all six early states on the Democratic presidential nominating calendar, which was rearranged earlier this year to give prize spots to five states with significant Black or Hispanic communities: South Carolina, Nevada, New Mexico, Virginia and Michigan.

Asked by Blue Light News about how his midterms spending could lay the groundwork for a presidential campaign, Pritzker said he’s “focused on winning in 2026.”

But some of those receiving major infusions from Pritzker say it should earn him a serious look in 2028.

“Governor Pritzker is playing a very important role” in the party, said Rep. Shomari Figures, a Black Democrat facing an uphill fight in Alabama who has gotten an assist from Pritzker’s newly-formed super PAC, Ready for the Fight. “He actually cares and is… willing to invest in districts where minority candidates have a good shot if they have the right type of support. I think that’s an important element of any leadership.”

Pritzker said Ready for the Fight’s strategy focuses on GOP-leaning districts that would normally be “out of sight for Democrats” but have become competitive in a favorable midterm environment.

Figures is fighting for reelection in a district Republicans redrew to make it harder for a Democrat to win by decreasing the Black population, after the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act this past spring.

When that court decision came down, Figures said Pritzker was one of the first people to call him to offer help.

“The fact that he reached out and engaged us through that lens with that level of knowledge about what was happening in Alabama meant a lot to us,” Figures said.

Pritzker is spending $1.6 million for Figures, $1.9 million to boost Tennessee state Rep. Justin Pearson, another Black candidate running in a newly gerrymandered district that includes part of Memphis, and has put $1.3 million behind Arkansas Democrat Chris Jones in his race against Rep. French Hill (R-Ark.) in Little Rock, making him the largest Democratic spender besides the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in all three districts.

Pritzker is also the largest individual donor to Texas Democrat Gina Hinojosa’s gubernatorial campaign, personally contributing $200,000 before committing another $1 million earlier this month. The latter donation came with a matching contribution from the Democratic Governors Association. Hispanic officials and lawmakers have been ramping up the pressure on the group’s chair, fellow 2028 hopeful Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, to invest more in Texas.

Pritzker called Hinojosa an “outstanding person.”

“The opportunity for her to win and for Democrats to win as a result of her winning is tremendous,” Pritzker told Blue Light News at a Thursday press conference. “From my perspective, we all ought to be helping somebody like that to overcome the odds.”

And while he declined to criticize national Democrats’ strategic decisions not to spend for some candidates in tough races facing a deluge of GOP outside money, he made clear he was looking to make up for that lack of funding.

“If I were running in one of those districts, and I’m not getting dollars that I see going to other districts, I would feel frustrated,” Pritzker said. “There’s only so much you can do when you’re being outspent three to one or four to one nationally, and so I’m trying to do my best to fill in some of that wherever I can.”

Pritzker is not the only potential 2028er looking to woo politically powerful Black and Hispanic communities, and his day job and his own reelection bid keeps him away from the national trail — unlike some of the other senators and governors who’ve been criss-crossing the country for months. But what he lacks in time, he makes up for in money.

His spending strategy is catching the attention of senior Black Democratic leaders.

“People tend to take notice of the people who take notice of them,” said South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn.

Clyburn said he takes Pritzker “seriously” as a potential presidential candidate, but cautioned that Black voters and organizers in his home state, where Pritzker recently addressed the state NAACP’s annual convention, likely won’t be swayed by campaign contributions alone.

“We are going to take measure of candidates, not based upon how deep their pockets are, but we’re going to take measure of how deep their commitments are to those things deemed important in the African American community,” he said.

Still, the donations are helping the billionaire longtime Democratic donor and two-term governor forge new allies in key communities that could provide a boost come primary season.

“I appreciate Governor Pritzker’s willingness to invest in places others have written off,” said Jones, who also thanked the DCCC for recently adding him to their list of targeted races. “Convincing people a race is worth investing in has often been an insurmountable barrier for Black candidates.”

Pritzker’s PAC spent $2.8 million for New Mexico Democratic Rep. Gabe Vasquez and the governor made a $400,000 personal contribution into a super PAC backing Nevada gubernatorial candidate Aaron Ford, a Black candidate running in a heavily Hispanic early-voting state.

But his biggest investment of the cycle was to boost Illinois Lieutenant Governor Julianna Stratton, who he picked as his 2018 running mate when she was a little-known state representative, then invested $10 million to help her win her U.S. Senate primary this spring.

The move created some tensions: Pritzker’s endorsement of Stratton helped lift her 2026 Senate campaign significantly over two other candidates — including Rep. Robin Kelly (D-Ill.), another Black woman who has had a strained relationship with Pritzker over the years. That frustrated several members of the Congressional Black Caucus, though he’s sought to mend fences since. Clyburn, who endorsed and campaigned for Kelly, said that race won’t “dictate future relationships when it comes to putting our party in the best position to win the elections in 2028.”

And ultimately, Stratton’s ascendance is a significant step in his outreach to Black voters nationally. He will be credited with helping send just the sixth Black woman ever to the U.S. Senate after her likely victory in November. She could be a key 2028 surrogate should he run for president.

“He really does have a platform to raise awareness of critical races that people might not otherwise pay attention to,” Stratton said. “I’m really grateful for that.”