The historic political comeback of President-elect Donald Trump was a nightmare for supporters of Kamala Harris, whose campaign raised a record amount of money, along with unprecedented numbers of staff and volunteers knocking on doors, sending texts, and writing letters. There was little consolation to be found for the Democrats, as they expected to lose their majority in the Senate and ended up losing the House, as well.
Admittedly, Harris had the difficult work of quickly emerging from President Joe Biden’s shadow and branding herself as a former prosecutor (she spoke about her Glock pistol), and choosing the Midwestern son of a farmer, veteran, and former high school coach Tim Walz, the Minnesota governor, as her running mate. Rather than tote bags, their names appeared in orange letters on hunting hats. Recognizing that Trump-as-a-boogeyman did not resonate as it did in 2020, this pair ran on Joy as their theme. In contrast to Barack Obama’s 2008 run as the first Black presidential nominee, Harris did not run on her gender and ethnic identity.
Harris’ down-ballot colleagues followed along with tough messages on crime and illegal immigration.
“I’m Laura Gillen and I’m here at the border. Of Nassau County. We’re 2,000 miles from Mexico but we’re feeling the migrant crisis almost every day.” This was the most memorable ad in the tight race for New York’s Fourth Congressional District, where Gillen beat Republican incumbent Anthony D’Esposito by 1.7 percent.
With such a narrow result, she spoke at her party’s election night event close to midnight, after state party chair Jay Jacobs felt confident in her victory. The Associated Press waited until the afternoon of the following day to declare the former Hempstead Town Supervisor as the winner, and a week after the election, D’Esposito has yet to publicly concede the race.
Gillen stood on the stage in Garden City alongside Jacobs and Rep. Tom Suozzi of the third district, which covers the northern side of Nassau County. His comeback involved his retirement from the seat in 2022 to unsuccessfully run for governor. After his seat was won by the apparent conman George Santos, Democratic leaders called for Suozzi to return, as his name recognition and reputation made him the most likely candidate to retake the seat. He won against former State Assemblyman Mike LiPetri by three points in a district where Trump won across many communities.
Suozzi ran as a “common sense” candidate who would work across the aisle on crime and immigration. Then there was Proposition One, the ballot measure that enshrined abortion and gender identity protections in the state constitution. It passed by 60 percent statewide, but was unpopular on Long Island, where children’s sports are an integral element of suburban culture.
“I don’t want to discriminate against anybody, but I don’t think biological boys should be playing in girls’ sports,” Suozzi said in an interview with The New York Times after the election. “Democrats aren’t saying that, and they should be.”
Likewise, when confronted by a Republican supporter as she was exiting her poll site, Gillen refused to say whether she voted for or against Proposition One. Suozzi added that his party failed to effectively combat Republican talking points about border security, college campus unrest, and “a general attack on traditional values.”
The party’s progressive activists fumed at Suozzi for disregarding LGBTQ to keep his seat, having failed to convince voters that transgender is the civil rights issue of our generation. They also were upset at Gillen for opposing congestion pricing, which was touted as good for the climate and funding transit, but also an excessive burden on commuting taxpayers and small businesses.
Having been swept out of power in Washington and its supermajority reduced on the state level, Democrats do not need to copy Republicans on all matters, as voters would prefer an original to an imitation.
Rather, they would look at the 1976 campaign of Jimmy Carter, the devout Baptist and peanut farmer who ran as a political outsider, or Bill Clinton, who was born in poverty and achieved academic success on his own merits, and then ran by focusing almost entirely on economic issues. Unfortunately, Carter’s promising rise was followed by a “malaise” that voted him out in a landslide after one term, and Clinton’s party suffered the disastrous midterm election of 1994 in which Rep. Newt Gingrich gave Republicans a new identity that was combative, populist, and uncompromising in its values.
Having secured their seats, Gillen and Suozzi recognize that the 2026 election will also be a closely fought battle. Although Great Neck and Woodmere voted for their Republican opponents, they have an opportunity to gain the trust of voters in these deeply red communities. They must match the rhetoric of Bronx Rep. Ritchie Torres in expressing support for Israel. Unlike Democratic presidential candidates, or their statewide or urban counterparts, they can do this without fearing a primary challenge from the left.
Although Orthodox voters supported Trump by landslide margins, they welcome candidates who recognize their priorities concerning Israel, education, security, and cultural issues. In Queens, they reelected Rep. Grace Meng and Assemblyman Sam Berger; and in Kiryas Joel, Satmar chasidim did likewise with Rep. Pat Ryan.
Suozzi also has a record in confronting China on its human rights abuses, in a district that has experienced growth in Chinese and Korean Americans. In the fourth district, Gillen won on the strength of African American, South Asian, Haitian, and Latino voters. They can have a voice on human rights, democracy, and support for their historical homelands, countering the isolationists among Republicans who seek to reduce America’s role in world affairs.
As they interact with many groups in their districts, these two representatives can connect them with the Jewish community, so that we can build coalitions on common values.
When the Democratic Party eschews identitarian politics, and grievances based on victims and oppressors, it will discover what the diverse Trump votership demonstrated to everyone in this election: a message of certainty concerning immigration, education, economic opportunities, and the family unit. This is the formula for the party’s revival in the Trump generation.
By Sergey Kadinsky
