Congress

New York’s richest aren’t opening their wallets to stop the left

Published

4 months ago

June 4, 2026

ALBANY, New York — The Empire State’s wealthiest residents are doing little to halt the left’s relentless march in New York.

That posture is playing out in a deeply uncertain political environment for New York’s billionaire class. The surprise election of democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani in the citadel of American capitalism rattled wealthy New Yorkers, and a recent battle in Albany over taxes underscored the growing influence of the state’s left flank.

Yet even as billionaire hedge fund titans like Ken Griffin publicly feud with Mamdani and deep-pocketed real estate interests protest a new tax on high-value second homes in the city, many of Gotham’s richest people are yet to open their wallets to shape the election cycle in this deep blue state.

Wealthy donors’ decision to remain on the sidelines has alarmed Republican operatives and political leaders in what’s shaping up to be a tough year for the GOP. They’ve been unable to persuade the super rich to aid the top of the Republican ticket, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, who is lagging in the polls behind moderate Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Republicans need a strong Blakeman candidacy. New York is home to several swing districts that stand to determine control of the closely divided House — making those races vital to President Donald Trump’s final two years in office.

“The thing about rich guys is they like to see a pathway,” said Republican strategist David Catalfamo, a former adviser to ex-Gov. George Pataki. “The only pathway is the governor. You have to show a pathway to success in order to make that bet. What’s the pathway?”

Wealthy New Yorkers were hardly shy about spending against Mamdani last year. Many of them had locked arms with his opponent, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, with millions of dollars flowing into a Cuomo-allied super PAC from the likes of former Mayor Michael Bloomberg and outspoken hedge fund chieftain Bill Ackman.

Mamdani’s win opened the floodgates for the left — a development that stands to have profound consequences for Albany and Washington policymaking.

Democratic socialists are running to unseat mainstream incumbents, with the 34-year-old Mamdani attempting to play kingmaker after he endorsed Rep. Adriano Espaillat’s far-left challenger, Darializa Avila Chevalier.

DSA challengers are also trying to unseat incumbent state legislators — contests that may reshape an already Democratic-dominated state Capitol and apply even more pressure on Hochul to raise taxes if she wins reelection.

Business groups, including the influential Partnership for New York City, have tried to take a more measured approach by lobbying incumbents rather than unseating them — a posture that includes opposition to broad-based tax hikes. And some private-sector boosters are funding super PACs to protect moderate Democratic incumbents in Albany who have a say over the state’s tax policy.

None of these efforts, though, are directed at unseating the governor, who has forged a productive relationship with Mamdani while also opposing his more aggressive tax hikes. And the relative reluctance among the rich to write checks represents a departure from recent years when the ultra wealthy tried to shape New York’s politics with mixed results.

Financial sector leaders like Dan Loeb backed super PACs supporting pro-charter school candidates in the Legislature in prior election cycles. Billionaire Mets owner Steve Cohen donated heavily to the state Democratic Committee while seeking a lucrative casino license, which he secured last year. Cosmetics heir Ron Lauder spent millions on an outside group to boost then-Rep. Lee Zeldin’s Republican bid against Hochul in her 2022 run for a full term.

That kind of spending is yet to materialize with less than a month to go until the state’s pivotal primaries.

Rather than try to halt the rising tide of democratic socialism, the most prominent of New York’s wealthy elite are renewing vows to move their investments and considerable fortunes to more economically friendly states like Florida or Texas.

The dynamic has left the state’s political class concerned that an even more troubling development is emerging for institutional candidates: The mega rich are simply checking out.

“Some of the entities that really care about this have moved to Florida or Atlanta,” said Conservative Party Chair Jerry Kassar. “They care, but they don’t care enough to take a lead. It boils down to this: You really love the city and gave up versus I love the city and I’m going to fight. What if they gave up?”

Blakeman, who trails Hochul in polling and fundraising, will need New York’s wealthy to side with him if he wants to be successful. His campaign scored a victory last week when a court ruled he could access public matching funds after Democrats tried to deny him the money, but even with that expected cash influx, he still trails significantly behind Hochul, who had $20 million in cash on hand at the start of the year. The governor is not participating in the public financing system.

The expected Republican nominee must improve both his poll position and fundraising to attract the attention of a deep-pocketed super PAC.

“Blakeman being able to properly get back into that program will be a magnet to attract other money to his campaign,” Kassar predicted. “I do think that Blakeman becomes much more appealing to individuals who want to play in New York state.”

Yet deep-pocketed help is not on the horizon, while the governor has shored up her own standing with New York’s economic upper crust.

Hochul has tried to signal to New York’s richest that she understands their concerns. She lobbied Mamdani to retain NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, a member of one of the country’s wealthiest families. She also met with Griffin after Mamdani bragged in a video outside his $238 million New York City penthouse that it would be taxed under a plan the governor championed.

Hochul has not disclosed what was said in her meeting with Griffin, which was scheduled prior to the dustup with Mamdani. And the mayor has not been able to get a sit-down with the hedge funder after the video when Griffin threatened to yank his company’s Big Apple investments.

Those contrasting relationships have suited Hochul well as she navigates this populist political era. Mamdani’s February endorsement of her reelection bid helped short circuit a left-flank primary challenge by Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado. The Buffalo-native governor has presented herself to the city’s monied elite as a backstop to the mayor’s more sweeping tax measures.

“Absent the governor I think you have a left-leaning legislature that would have pushed more significant tax increases who are not grasping how we’re losing the competitive race,” said Steve Fulop, the president and CEO of the Partnership for New York City, a business-boosting organization.

The DSA, meanwhile, stands to become the biggest winners of the upcoming June Democratic primaries. Candidates backed by the group are supporting primary challengers across New York, and their success would complicate state budget negotiations next year.

There are, however, some exceptions.

One group, Next NYC PAC, has received support from real estate interests like the Real Estate Board of New York’s political arm. The super PAC New York Forward, a group supported by the Albany-based lobbying firm Brown & Weinraub, is backing moderate Democrats in city races including those running against DSA-backed candidates.

“Our clients know they won’t win on every policy issue,” said Evan Rantzaklis, the PAC’s senior adviser. “But they are looking for leaders who will sit down, have real conversations, and find practical solutions — not just try to score political points. This effort is about supporting that kind of legislator.”

Congress

Centrist Dem’s Supreme Court plan boosts momentum for revamp

Published

2 hours ago

October 1, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Democratic efforts to revamp the Supreme Court gained momentum Thursday as an influential center-left think tank released a plan to limit justices’ terms and misconduct.

Third Way’s proposal, shared first with Blue Light News, highlights growing unity across the ideological spectrum in the Democratic Party for significant changes to the high court as Americans’ trust in the institution hovers at historic lows.

The group says it also wants to inject ideas to overhaul the court — including legislation to set an 18-year term limit and an enforceable ethics code — into the party’s conversations leading up to the 2028 presidential race.

“This is one of those things that we think can and should be a part of the 2028 discussion, and those folks who are running should be asked about whether they would champion Supreme Court reform,” Lanae Erickson, a senior vice president at Third Way, said in an interview.

Key Democratic groups have increasingly been coalescing around ideas to overhaul the court’s structure and policing in light of accusations of growing partisanship and corruption among justices. In June, a number of key Democratic House caucus leaders, including the Congressional Progressive Caucus, released their own resolution calling for term limits for justices and a code of ethics.

“We think that the center left has been remiss in not being forward enough on reform proposals that would make our system work better for people, which is why some folks have gone to the further left,” Erickson said.

Third Way cited public opinion polling from both the Brennan Center for Justice and FOX News indicating more than 70 percent of respondents favored term limits for justices. An 18-year cycle would ensure the appointment of two justices every presidential term.

The group also wants legislation to hold justices accountable for ethics violations. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said last month he supports “dramatic reform” on the Supreme Court starting with an ethics code so justices don’t act “above the law.”

The court in 2023 adopted its own formal ethics code for the first time in history, but that policy largely lacks some of the teeth that advocates have proposed.

One idea supported by some Democrats that Third Way is not endorsing: upping the number of justices on the bench. Erickson said that idea seems more like “a mutually assured destruction path,” as parties could go back and forth adding more justices.

The path forward for any court-focused legislation in Congress in the near future, however, is very slim without majorities in both chambers and control of the White House — something Third Way acknowledged.

Still, the group’s recommendations are meant “to show that the center left can also be bold and be addressing systemic problems to appeal to voters and their level of anxiety and anger about what’s happening right now,” Erickson said.

Congress

Capitol agenda: Dems skip DC with wind in their sails

Published

2 hours ago

October 1, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

The Senate wrapped up its work late Wednesday night, and lawmakers in both chambers won’t be back until after midterm voters pass judgment.

And Chuck Schumer is growing increasingly confident they’ll hand the Senate to Democrats

“Here’s how I’d sum up the election: Can enormous amounts of Republican money beat a Democratic enormous advantage in much better candidates and a much better political climate?” the minority leader said in an interview in his office Wednesday.

“I think we win,” he added.

Schumer’s optimism — saying Democrats’ have the “wind in their sails” — reflects his members’ growing bullishness as they head home for a final sprint to convince voters to give them back the majority. The Senate recessed Wednesday night after confirming President Donald Trump’s Labor secretary, but Democrats stayed united in a string of politically tricky votes before leaving.

“It certainly feels like it’s going to be a wave election, and not for good reasons,” Sen. Chris Murphy said. “This president’s domestic and foreign policy has gone off the rails.”

There’s division among Democratic party strategists on whether to spend these final weeks focusing on the states viewed as most likely to flip — like Alaska, Ohio or Iowa — or put resources into so-called reach states like Mississippi, South Carolina or Florida.

Schumer declined to weigh in, but said that Democrats would do “whatever it takes to win” and that he expects to spend the next five weeks fundraising.

“We have lots of different paths to victory, and we’re not going to turn any of them down,” he said.

Also hanging over the midterm elections are questions about Schumer’s future — but the New York Democrat said that he is “running for re-election for leader. Period.”

Republicans, meanwhile, are still hopeful that they can hold onto their majority even if it’s narrower. Much of the midterms map runs through states that Trump won previously.

“Of course we are,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said about keeping control of the chamber as he left the building Wednesday. “Thank you for asking.”

What else we’re watching:

— PERMITTING DEAL FACES HOUSE BUZZSAW — The Senate’s newly announced bipartisan permitting reform package is set to hit a wall in the House, where key lawmakers aren’t rushing to endorse it. House Natural Resources ranking member Jared Huffman warned Wednesday most House Democrats will not support the Senate’s permitting legislation as written, urging lawmakers to resume negotiations after the midterm elections when they are “likely to have a far better negotiating position.” And House Energy and Commerce Chair Brett Guthrie, a key GOP negotiator, has yet to take a position on the Senate deal.

—RASKIN WANTS TRUMP AD PROBE — House Judiciary’s top Democrat is demanding federal inquiries into the amount of taxpayer money that was used by the Trump administration for a TV ad blitz endorsing the president ahead of the midterms. Rep. Jamie Raskin, who is poised to lead the panel if Democrats flip the chamber, and Rep. George Whitesides, wrote to the Government Accountability Office Wednesday asking them to investigate the “source, accounts and total amount of taxpayer funds used” to produce and distribute the ads. The pair of lawmakers also asked the Office of Special Counsel to investigate whether the ads “constitute a violation of the Hatch Act” and to “determine who should be held accountable.”

Nico Portuondo and Chris Marquette contributed to this report.

Congress

Raskin leads calls for federal investigation into Trump PSA’s

Published

2 hours ago

October 1, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

The top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee is demanding federal inquiries into the amount of taxpayer money used to furnish a television ad blitz propping up President Donald Trump ahead of the midterms.

Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, who is poised to lead the panel if Democrats win the majority in November, joined California Democratic Rep. George Whitesides in sending a letter to the Government Accountability Office and the Office of Special Counsel. It asks the GAO to investigate the “source, accounts, and total amount of taxpayer funds used by the Executive Office of the President to produce and distribute this advertisement across major television markets and official White House social media channels.”

The lawmakers also ask the Office of Special Counsel to investigate whether the ads “paid for by millions of dollars of taxpayer funds, constitute a violation of the Hatch Act, and determine who should be held accountable.”

The ads, which so far have run during NFL games and flagship Sunday news shows, depict Trump in a powerful and effective light, with glimpses of him posing for the camera, denigrating the free press and denouncing communism. Each includes the phrase, “paid for by the U.S. government.”

“These ads constitute an illegal use of taxpayer funds, perhaps best demonstrated by the fact that they are virtually identical to the ones Donald Trump used during his 2024 presidential campaign, and in fact use the same footage and the same inept ideological messaging,” Raskin and Whitesides contend.

Other congressional Democrats have also reached out to the administration in recent days to express outrage and ask basic questions about how the ads were derived and funded.

Sens. Patty Murray of Washington and Chris Murphy of Connecticut — the top Democrats on the Senate Appropriations Committee and the appropriations subcommittee on Homeland Security, respectively — have written to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin regarding reports that the agency has redirected $20 million in funding originally intended for Customs and Border Protection to “bankroll the obscene political ads.”

A White House spokesperson called the TV spots “public service announcements” and said they are designed to remind “Americans to love their country and understand what makes it worth defending, at home, at our borders, and abroad. The ad is educational and unapologetically patriotic. We should be proud of our country.”

A spokesperson for DHS said the agency “follows all applicable rules for contracting decisions and keeps all decision makers informed” and that “all contracting decisions are made in accordance with applicable law.”

The Office of the Special Counsel confirmed it received the letter and declined comment.

A spokesperson for GAO did not respond to a request for comment.