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State Party Chair Jay Jacobs on New York’s 2026 Democratic Primaries & What Comes Next
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Jay Jacobs, chair of the New York State Democrati…
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Welcome to Max Politics. This is Ben Max coming to you from New York Law School and its center for New York City and State Law. Thanks for tuning in. It's Thursday, June 25, 2026 and as we continue to dissect what happened in the 2026 New York primary elections for state and federal offices and look ahead to what's next in terms of both governing and the general election, I'm joined on the program today by Jay Jacobs, the Chair of the New York State Democratic Party. He's also Chair of the Nassau County Democratic Party on Long Island. We spoke on Thursday, June 25, the day after primary day where at least in New York City, the left, especially New New York City Mayor Zoram Hamdani and the Democratic Socialists of America that he comes out of and remains aligned with, had a very big primary election. Mamdani and the DSA continue to fle and grow their power doing so through a series of Democratic primary wins from Mamdani backed candidates and the broader slate of DSA backed candidates for Congress and the State Legislature. That included Congressional primary wins where Brad Lander defeated Congressman Dan Goldman, Darielisa Villa Chevalier defeated Congressman Adriano Espaillat and Claire Valdez won an open race over Antonio Reynoso and others to succeed Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez. In the other much watched Congressional primary in the city, Michael Asher won the open race over Alex Boris and other candidates to succeed retiring Congressman Jerry Nadler. Outside the city, one of the most important races was for the Democratic nomination in New York's 17th congressional district where Kate Connelly won by a fairly wide margin and will face Republican Congressman Mike Lawler in the general election in what will surely be one of the most watched House races in New York and the country. Also in these primaries that just wrapped up, Tom DiNapoli won the only statewide primary on the ballot to again become the Democratic nominee for State Comptroller, a position he's held since 2007. He and the other statewide officials, Gov. Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James, also Democrats will now face their Republican opponents in the state legislative primaries for many Senate and Assembly seats. Several New York City based incumbents have been defeated by left wing challengers, including a number of Democratic Socialists who won and will be all but certain to go on to win the general election and grow the DSA ranks in the Legislature come January, giving Mayor Mamdani even more allies to enact his agenda, which relies heavily on the state. He also needs help from the federal government and now they have more allies there. However, he may have also burned some bridges with some members of Congress, including the potential next speaker of the House, Hakeem Jeffries. More on that in a minute. Jay Jacobs, chair of the New York State Democratic Party, also known as the New York State Democratic Committee, will join me momentarily with his analysis on the primaries and what comes next as we head toward the general election where not only will those Democrats be looking to hold on to their statewide offices, but there will be a handful of competitive House races across New York, including that 17th congressional district that will again contribute to which party has a majority in the House of Representatives come January. And this possibility if Democrats do win the majority of Brooklyn's Hakeem Jeffries, currently the minority leader in the House, becoming the speaker of the House. Very briefly, I just had New York City Public Advocate Jumani Williams on the show to give his post primary analysis, so check that out if you haven't heard it yet. And I have several more post primary conversations with great guests lined up for the coming days. And there's still some excellent pre primary conversations in the feed that are still quite relevant, like my conversation with the co chairs of NYC dsa. Lots to check out after you listen to this one. All right. I'm pleased to welcome back to Max Politics Jay Jacobs, the chair of the New York State Democratic Party as well as the Nassau County Democratic Party on Long Island. Thanks for joining me again. How are you?
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Thanks. I'm doing great. Thanks for having me.
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Thanks for taking the time. So we'll get into different specifics here, but what was your big picture takeaway from the primaries that we just saw completed at the state and federal levels in New York City and the suburbs and beyond here in New York State?
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Well, look, I think we always have a good night when voters make the choice for the candidates they want. I think Tom Dinapoli winning was, was really very good for the party as a whole. It demonstrates that statewide I think that voters are looking for, you know, common sense government and moderate government. I think, you know, locally, you know, there, there are districts in the city of New York, of course, that are very progressive and they chose progressive candidates. And that is something that you have to recognize. Every district is different. What works and what wins out on Long island and in Suffolk county or Nassau county or even upstate is not necessarily what's going to prevail in some of the districts in the city.
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And what do you think of the outcome there in the 17th congressional district you now have your Democratic nominee, Kay Conley. How do you feel about that? We won't spend too much time on that general election matchup, but that was one of the big ones on the ballot outside the city. What'd you think of that outcome?
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Well, she's a very impressive candidate and I think that she's going to give Mike Lawler a run for his money. I think that's going to be a very, I think she's got a compelling biography and, you know, story to tell, and I think voters are going to, are going to be joined to her.
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Is that the biggest priority race that isn't a hold this cycle?
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Well, that one, yes. Look, I'm up looking up at Congressional District 21 as well, the old Stefanik seat. I think there's a lot of potential there in the north country. I think voters up there that have in the past voted Republican, I think they sense a little bit of betrayal between the damage that Trump has done to the tourist economy because Canadian tourism is down dramatically because of the way he has treated the Canadians, to the tariffs that have been really very detrimental to upstate New York, to the gas prices, the economy as a whole, and all of the craziness going on in Washington. I think you have a lot of people who formerly voted Republican that just are sick of it.
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Interesting. So what's the role of the state party in the primaries that we just had? You're basically hands off with everything. I mean, it didn't seem to me like there was involvement. Are you even doing incumbency protection work? What's the role of the state party in the, in the primaries?
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Yeah, I think the state party primary generally takes a step back. You know, you never know what the outcome is going to be. And frankly, I think our job is to, is to more be interested in making sure that everybody has the resources that they need that are available to them. But, you know, our, our activity really steps up now for the general election with the coordinated campaign. The governor has done a tremendous job raising, raising an awful lot of money and has made it clear to the, you know, to me that she would be hopeful that we're going to run a very robust coordinated campaign and that we will do. And that's going to help candidates down ballot, not only her as a candidate for reelection for governor and Adrienne Adams for lieutenant governor and of course, the entire top of the ticket, but really it's down ballot that her focus has been. She wants to make sure that we pick up a congressional seat or two best we can, and some legislative seats if possible. And even remember Something we're now in an even year election cycle for town and county elections. So that's given us a great potential. And she's interested in using the coordinated campaign as we will direct it to help out in some of those down ballot races. And I think you're going to see big changes.
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I want to get more of your reflections on the primaries we just had. But let's stick with the coordinated campaign for a moment. This was something that really came together last cycle. You had some tough losses in 2022. The governor really, as you and I talked about on this program, the governor really sort of took, took ownership and got together with you got together with Hakeem Jeffries and others and really put together this coordinated campaign effort. Will you just outline a little bit of what that's going to look like for this general election cycle that's about to unfold?
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Well, we're certainly going to have offices opening up. We have been opening offices in the competitive congressional districts throughout the state. In addition to that, we're hit other geographic areas that we feel are ripe to bring out additional vote. We're going to be focusing on the city of New York. I think that because the city is so Democratic, overwhelmingly Democratic, sometimes we've just let it go and left it to local authorities or local political parties. I should say get out the vote there. Now it's our job and we felt that we've got to bring up the numbers in the city of New York. So we're going to be working there as well. So you're going to see a very robust coordinated campaign. We're going to have field offices, we're going to have paid staff in those field offices. We're going to volunteer based operations going on. You're going to be seeing mailings from the coordinated campaign, certainly some digital messaging as well.
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And is it correct to say that this operation is basically a joint effort between the governor, yourself and Congressman Jeffries, or are there other major decision makers in the in the mix?
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Well, it's coordinated by the state Democratic Party and the governor, you know, certainly is, you know, the head of the ticket and is the lead in this. And then you've got Hakeem Jeffries and the DCCC being involved. You also are going to get involvement from dac, the Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee as well as some local counties. So for instance, in Nassau county, you know, I'm the Nassau chair as well. As I mentioned, we're going to be working with the coordinating campaign to help elect our down ballot county and town candidates. So, you know, it'll all be, you know, all be brought together, I think, in a very powerful way so as to be the most efficient, effective use of resources and have the best outcome.
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Now, you didn't mention the state, the Senate campaign committee. They're still doing their own thing.
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No, I think they're gonna be involved as well. I don't mean to leave them out.
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Okay. Just wasn't sure, you know, I know there's been some of that division of labor in the pass. I wasn't sure where that's at.
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Well, we're working through, but they've been very cooperative with us in. In this endeavor right now, as has been the, you know, the DiNapoli campaign is going to be involved. Tish James, the AG campaign will be involved. Everybody is in. We're all working together very well.
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Going to get a. A replacement for Mike Generis coming up. That's going to be a big, big shift in state politics. Yeah, very interesting. All right, so in terms of the primaries we just had, we talked a little bit about the 17th congressional district there. Come back to what you saw in the city. This was, as you mentioned, significant progressive victories. What did you see? Let's start at the congressional level. What did you see from your vantage point with two sitting incumbent Democratic House members, Dan Goldman, Adriano Espail, losing these primaries in New York City?
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Look, primaries in the city tend to be lower turnout events that, you know, favor the more progressive activist candidates because it's the progressives and the activists who tend to vote with more regularity in primaries where, you know, in the general elections, you get a broader base of the electorate. So I don't think we can be too surprised about these things. I. Look, Adriano Espionage Espaillat has been an outstanding member of Congress, great representative of his area, a progressive voice in the Congress, and I think just a stalwart in our, you know, in our efforts to bring back affordability or bring affordability to people in the state of New York. I think it's unfortunate that we're not going to have the benefit of his being in Congress. And I'm looking forward to working, you know, with the winner in that race. And I think she'll be someone that hopefully we'll work with and we'll understand the importance of the moment and how we all have to come together to work, you know, to restore America's sanity and put a check on all this Trump craziness. When it comes to Dan Goldman, another asset, I mean, you know, he's been phenomenal in his holding the Trump administration to account, his ability to, to do that. And I have to tell you that you can't look at it in the personal. The people decide. We'll work with Brad Lander and we'll work with everybody to bring everybody together. I think it's so important now that we focus on the real mission in front of us. And I always remind everybody that no man or woman is bigger than the mission. And the mission right now, the Democratic Party, is to win the majority in the House of Representatives, make sure that Hakeem Jeffries is the speaker, and put a check on all of the Trump administration's outrageous and just off the charts, you know, policies and behaviors. You know, there's a lot of work to do, and we have to come together to do it. That's first and foremost. And after that, we want to have discussions about, you know, where we go from there. Well, I'm welcome. I'm welcome to hear them, and I'm happy to listen.
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When you look at, you know, you've been an advocate for overall New York Democrats taking a more moderate approach. Now, you already acknowledge, of course, there's some parts of New York City where progressives are going to dominate, and it can be a fight between the pretty far left and the very far left in some of these districts. But when you have a couple of sitting congressmen who get beaten from their left. I hear what you're saying about low turnout, activated voters and progressives and so forth, but did you see anything in either of those races that raise bigger concerns for you as a leader of the Democratic Party, in terms of. There are ways in which it seemed like both Goldman and Espeat were not responsive to some of the ways that the Democratic electorate, even more broadly that we see in polling, has sort of moved on different issues, whether it's economic populism or it's things related to the US Relationship with Israel. Any, any flags in there that you think that were sort of errors in positioning and strategy for them, that, that you're taking forward from those races?
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Well, I don't know that it was errors in strategy or position. Sometimes you take a position and that's what your conscience dictates. And I can't say that I fault anyone for that. I would simply say I think that this issue about the Palestinian Israeli conflict has been overtaking the conversation in many Democratic quarters. And I think at times it's been. I think that it's been mischaracterized on both sides. Look, the war in Gaza has been just a tremendous tragedy for the people of Gaza and I respect that. No one likes to see the loss of human life the way they have been. And we have to look at, and I will also say that it's not anything but legitimate to criticize the Netanyahu government for what they've done and how they've carried themselves and what they've allowed to go on there. I've done so myself, very disappointed in that government. But at the same time, I think there has to be an understanding about what the state of Israel is about and has always been about and the United States relationship to Israel. And I think it's complicating in the Democratic primaries that we've seen because so many of the young people in particular and progressives in particular have held a view that they have a different perspective than some of the folks in Washington who look at this in the strategic sense, the world view, strategic sense. They're seeing it from very clear and quite frankly, honest to human sense. And there's that conflict and it's creating a problem. It creates, created a problem for us. And then you have the overlay in the Jewish community of concerns about the Democrats being insensitive to antisemitism, which I think is completely wrong. I don't think that's true of our leaders. And certainly the governor's been very out front speaking out against antisemitism and speaking out and defending Jews as well as Muslims and other, you know, members of our society. But, but look, you know, we, we get bogged down in these things at times. You know, to call them a distraction is, does them a disservice. But they do, you know, from some of the other issues that we have to focus on, people, you know, get,
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but that's, but that was perhaps the one linchpin issue across these Democratic primaries in the city, at least where there were these stark differences between the candidates.
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That's true. And the, and the activist vote, you know, spoke very loud and clear. And look, we see that in polling and you have to respect that. You have to respect that. And we have to figure out as a Democratic Party, you know, how we balance these two views, the existence of the state of Israel and the protection of every human life, no matter what their background is, everybody should be protected. So you've got to balance this and we have to go back to something like the two state solution, which we've always believed in as the Democrats, where we're saying, yes, there should be a state of Israel, it should be able to defend itself. It should have secure borders and it should have its own rights. And at the same time, there should be a Palestinian state that can be equally described, where Palestinians can grow and flourish and live in peace and harmony amongst each other without threat. That's where we should be. And unfortunately, between the government of Israel currently, the Netanyahu government, being unwilling to address that in the way that I think it needs to be addressed, and at the same time, I have to say, not having stable and reliable partners in the Palestinian leadership, it's a very complex current reality in the Middle East. And when we simplify it, then I say that we do a disservice to the argument. So we really have to begin to take a look at this in a broader sense so that Democrats can come up with something that we present to voters as rational, reasonable and effective.
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It seems to me, looking at now the general election ahead and the ways in which you spoke to this idea of ensuring more activity from the state party and the coordinated campaign in New York City, that the governor came to her agreement with Mayor Mamdani, then candidate Mamdani, when she decided to endorse him in the general election. He then returned the favor fairly early in this cycle. And that was helpful to her in edging Antonio Delgado out of the primary. He wasn't the only factor in that, of course. She was showing a lot of strength and he was not picking up much steam. But they have had their developing relationship. And it seems like part of the calculus there on the governor's side is that to your point from earlier, this idea of one of her challenges in 2022 was that there wasn't a groundswell of voter turnout for her in New York City. And some of the margins where Lee Zeldin tightened things up and got to that Republican Magic Number of 30% in the city was partly due to a lack of voter turnout for the governor and from Democrats. And so sort of counteracting that this time, as you were speaking to earlier. But it seems to me this could be one of those issues like we saw with Vice President Harris and the presidential campaign, where people who are aligned with the Mamdani movement and those types of politics want to potentially hear something different from her, whether it's on Israel, Gaza or things like more economic populism, their push for increased taxes. Those seem to be a couple of the real tricky areas she's going to have to navigate in this general election. Would you agree with that? And how are you thinking about ways that she should address that Democratic base that she wants to turn out for her in New York City.
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You know, no candidate for office, incumbent or challenger, I think, is going to be able to speak to every voter that they want to encourage to support them with 100% of the issues or to be 100% on the side of the issues that those voters want. It just doesn't work like that. You're always going to be able to take issue with every single candidate for one thing or another. So there's never perfection. What I think the governor has to do and what I think voters have to remember is she has to present her policies, her views, in a clear way that gives voters the sense that she's thinking about them. She fights for, as she says, she's fighting for our families across the state constantly. She's been favoring views and policies in particular, I think, that have been beneficial to voters across the state. And she's got to remind people of what she's done, whether it was banning cell phones in schools, to providing more funding for education on Long island that helps bring down property taxes, to promoting more housing to help bring down the cost of housing, to getting dollars into people's pockets by sending rebate checks. And, I mean, there's so many different things. Gun control laws, you name it. She's been doing things that I think voters like and appreciate. We have to let them know what those are. I think that voters also have to remember the choice isn't between ever. And this has nothing to do with Kathy Hochul or the governor. This is always the way it is. Your choice is between the candidate who represents your views to 80 or 85% of the time versus the opponent who doesn't, but has that one piece that maybe you like. In this case, Kathy Hochul's running against Bruce Blakeman. That's the choice. That's what you've got. And you got to take a look at Bruce Blakeman and take a look at the candidate that he is, the county executive that he's been and what he stands for and what he wants to do. He is a MAGA Republican. He is a Trump sycophant. He makes no bones about it. He's not shy about it. He's proud of it. He supports all of the things that Trump has advocated. And you just gotta take a look at that and say, is that what you believe in? Is that New York? And if you. If you don't, and I think overwhelmingly most New Yorkers don't, they'll come out and they'll vote for Kathy Hochul. On the one hand, but I think even more importantly, I want them to vote for Kathy Hochul because of what she has done, what she proposes, her vision of what New York State should be, can be and will be under the next Hochul administration. And I think that's where the distinction lies. And I'm very confident that, yes, I'm sure there are issues in the city and that's always gonna have its complications, but I think she can stand up to anybody in the city and tell them what she's done. And again, are they gonna agree 100% with her at all times? No. But overwhelmingly, I think they're gonna like what Kathy Hochul has done. I think they're gonna vote for her.
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I think it's gonna be very interesting again to this point of when she does want the Mamdani coalition to come out and vote for her, whether she is willing to meet them more are towards the positions they've been taking and seeking out some of these candidates that they just voted for in congressional and state level races, or they have the choice to stay home. And I think that's going to be one of the biggest swing points here.
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I always advise candidates and I would advise the Governor, I would advise the government. Same thing. The most important thing is authenticity, I think. I think you got to be yourself. You got to stand for what you, you know, what you believe in. And you have to let people know that. And I don't think you can worry whether everybody's going to agree with you all of the time, because they're not. As I said before, I think that I'm pretty confident Kathy Hochul, as Kathy Hochul is going to do just fine in the city of New York and everywhere else in the state.
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She had a little bit of a mixed bag because she did support Congressman SBI and Goldman. So they lost. And that was some of her political capital on the line there. She was especially active with, with Congressman Espail coming down the stretch there. She had other candidates she endorsed that did well in the state legislature. Do you think any of what just happened in these congressional primaries diminishes her sort of power within New York Democratic politics or it wasn't so much about her. And, you know, her political capital is not really diminished from that.
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Yeah, I don't see that at all, really. You know, look, let's face it, she stood firmly behind Tom Dinapoli. He won overwhelmingly in the entire state of New York. So we can point to some of the ones that she didn't win, but where she endorsed. But again, I think remember something, she has relationships and friendships with these members of Congress who've been very helpful to her. And when she needs help in Washington, she goes to these folks. So it's natural to support the incumbent. And they were also so and I'll reiterate this, they were good incumbents. They did a great job, and I'm proud of them in spite of the outcome of the primary election, and I respect the will of the voters in those districts. But, you know, I can have my opinion, too, and she can have hers, too. But overwhelmingly, I think the governor supported more candidates that win, and certainly on a statewide basis, than did not. And I think that's what we have to keep our eyes on.
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One of the things that Mayor Mamdani is saying is that part of the reason he's supporting some of these challenges to incumbents or some of the candidates that he's supported for open seats is that he thinks the Democratic Party is broken and needs to change and he's trying to reshape it, that it needs to be more focused on working people and not wealthier interests, that it needs to be an anti war party and so on and so on. You know, some of the talking points there. Where's he right and where is he wrong? In your view, when it comes to the New York State Democratic Party, are there elements of the ways in which voters are frustrated with the Democratic Party writ large that you're sort of taking a closer look at as you, as you move ahead in this election cycle?
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Especially, I think when it comes to the state of New York, I don't agree with him. I think that in the state of New York, I think Kathy Hochul is really on target with what she's doing. And I think that what I've seen from polling and what I've seen from talking to voters is that they like the policies and programs that she's put forward. When they know about them, I think too often they don't know about them. And that's why I think that she's not even more popular in the polling than she should be. But I think when we look at the national Democratic Party and what goes on the big scene, I think the mayor's right. I think that the Democratic Party for too long has been too afraid of bold change. I don't agree with all of the changes that Mayor Mamdani suggests, however. I think that capitalism as it stands needs a major overhaul, a major fix. I think it's gone completely astray. I think that Income disparity in this country is the biggest threat to American democracy. I think it's the reason why we have Donald Trump in office right now. It's the fundamental reason why we have him in office. I think we need to do something about that. I think what we need to do about it has to be dramatic, not incremental, not minimalist, but again, bold and dynamic. I think that the way corporate money and other interests overwhelm the electoral process, and I'll include things like gerrymandering and other political machinations that skew the real desires of the people in our country as something that needs to be changed. And I think that first and foremost, what we need to do is pull ourselves together, realize that we're going to disagree on maybe the specifics of policy, but we are together on the basic principles of what this country needs. I mean, I think the Democratic Party needs to get back to being the single biggest advocate for the American dream for everybody. And everything we do has to be to promote the American Dream. And if it doesn't, that's something we shouldn't be going toward. And I look at, look, I've done very well in my life. Financially, I'm in pretty good shape. But I believe in philanthropy and I believe in the fact that taxes have to go up for people in the upper income levels, not the state level level, because then people will flee the state. But federally, they have to go up. We can't continue to sustain an economy with debt that now exceeds the GDP of our country. We're getting into Third World status before long. The American dollar needs to be strengthened again. And all of these things take responsible governance that's based upon an economic policy that's beneficial to everybody in our country, not just the few at the very top. And I think if you take a look at how incomes were distributed or how the GDP was distributed back in the 60s, 70s, 80s, and you compare it to now, you see a dramatic difference. And I think it's going to impact our capacity to compete internationally and our ability to sustain democracy internally. So I think it's a serious time for this country. And I think that the only benefit of the Trump administration is that he is moving us continually toward crisis. And it's only through crisis that America has ever decided to change fundamentally. So when you ask me about the mayor and the mayor's ideas and what he says, I think what he says has a lot of validity. I just think some of the ideas that he has, has socialism and the like, are not exactly what this Nation needs. It's not what we're founded about. We're the land of opportunity. We need to encourage opportunity. We need to revitalize capitalism, not destroy capitalism. I think capitalism can be the engine for continued growth. It has been the engine for the greatest growth in the history of the world, in our country, centered in our country, and I'm proud of it. But it needs to be fixed, because right now it's broken. And I think when he talks about that and when others in the Democratic Party talk about that, I agree with them. But now to come up with what those solutions are, that's a tough task, and we'll do it.
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B
There's another element to what's going on here that, again, your work with the state party and the coordinated campaign really speaks to, which is we just saw last year in the mayoral race and now in these primaries that at least in New York City, the only forces that seem to really be moving votes are Mayor Mamdani and the dsa. Right now, we just saw labor unions coming up short in a lot of races where they were, you know, backing certain candidates. We have seen a lot of individual endorsements and group endorsements, and it didn't seem to, you know, make a big difference in a lot of these races. And turnout stayed quite low. But the mayor, you know, is hot right now. He's popular. He just won last year, and he's, you know, retaining some of that. But the sort of older political infrastructure in the city especially seems to really have sort of frayed and decayed. What do you make of that? Is the. Is the state party and the coordinated campaign meant to replace some of that and work on getting out the vote? How do you think about the role of labor and some of these challenges with getting people out to vote? Because it seemed like that was one of the biggest sort of dichotomies here that we just saw, again, was that it was kind of the mayor and his movement who were able to excite people and get them out. And then a lot of other entities fell short in that effort.
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A
Effort, yeah. Well, I think the coordinated campaign is just that, coordinating. And I don't think we're there to replace anything. I think we're there to bring people together and to get everybody motivated and moving in the same direction, seeing how important the task ahead of us is and keeping our eye on the ball and making sure that no matter what our disagreements are. And let's be honest about it, the Democratic Party has always had disagreements within it. There have always been factions. Go back to the days of McGovern Humphrey in the late 60s, in the Vietnam War. It's always been like that.
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B
Forgive me. Let me rephrase it though. When you're running the coordinated campaign, do you have strong allies in the labor unions, in the local Democratic parties? You know, there's a lot of attention in New York that a lot of these sort of county parties, you know, especially in the city, again, really aren't, you know, very strong anymore. They don't really have the sort of localized juice and power to turn out the vote. How do you see it from that perspective in terms of you're looking to partner and run a coordinated campaign with unions, with county parties and so forth. Are you seeing a lot of weakness there and do you have thoughts about rebuilding?
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A
Unions are still very strong, impactful and still strong. And I think you're right. I think many of our, the old line Democratic organizations in some of the big counties, the big boroughs in the city of New York have greatly diminished and are not as effective as they were back in the heyday. That's just a function of modernization. That's a function of change. And that will happen. I think what our obligation right now is as the coordinated campaign is to reach out to all of the various constituency groups within our party, even with differing philosophical views and policy views, and bring them together focused on the major challenge. And that is making sure that, that we take the majority in the House of Representatives first. Ultimately, in 2028, in the next election, we take the White House. So that's the most important. All of the change I talked about before that Mayor Mamdani hopes for and talks about, none of that happens if we don't do that. So if we can't get together in a way that yields success, then all is lost and nothing else matters. And that's the message I think you have to bring to everybody. So you have to put aside your smaller differences and focus on the commonalities that I think are far greater and certainly far more important.
- [36:06]
B
You have a difference of approach between people like the governor and I would put in her category someone like Congressman Pat Ryan and how they sort of approach the left of the party versus a Tom Suozzi and how he basically says the Democratic socialists should start their own political party and he wants nothing to do with them. Are you trying to get folks and you know, Congressman Suozzi is not alone there. Maybe that's a little bit more of a Long island thread and maybe you have thoughts on that. Obviously that being your, your home base There. Are you concerned about some of that divisive intra party rhetoric or do you think in places like Nassau County, Suffolk county, more sort of moderate Democrats really need to be out there putting distance between themselves and the left wing of have any chance to win?
- [36:58]
A
Well, let's understand where that's all coming from. All right. I think that's the first thing. And I think, by the way, a lot of what we have to do in the coordinated campaign is get people to listen to one another instead of just advocating their own positions. So where is what Congressman Suozzi is saying? Where's that coming from? What's that about? What that's about is that in places like Nassau county and other competitive districts, different than what we're seeing in some of the very progressive, overwhelmingly Democratic, non competitive districts in the city, different than them. You have Republicans who are pointing to Mayor Mamdani or others from the Democratic socialists that may be winning in these primaries in the districts that they represent very well. And you have Republicans saying, well, look, all Democrats, Suozzi, everybody is a socialist and we're all called socialists. So he's trying to distinguish himself because he's got to create a rational argument in his district which is very much more moderate, in fact, maybe even at times leaning a little bit to the right depending on the issue. He's got to convince them to vote for a Democrat. And by the way, the people in
- [38:14]
B
the city, can he do that without the negative? You know, can he do that by sort of identifying himself more on his own positive terms versus criticizing the left? I mean, again, you see this disparity and even you in this conversation are doing much more of the sort of Governor Hochul, Pat Ryan type of talk versus what we hear from some of your other.
- [38:34]
A
My point is this. You know, it's funny. People don't really like to focus in on the fact that we have an election, okay? We got to win an election, all right? So if that's not important and you're worried about getting your feelings hurt, then I don't know what to say. I'm just saying to you that sometimes to win an election, if you have to come out and say, Jay Jacobs is the worst chairman we've ever had, we got to get rid of him and that's going to help a Democrat get elected, then I'll give him a wink in the eye and say, go ahead and do it, all right? Because I'm not that important, you see? And the same thing for people in the city in a district that are very Progressive. To hear Tom Suozzi have to get out there and distinguish himself. You can get angry about it, but first and foremost would you Tom Suozzi not to win his election and in fact you get a Republican instead. And is that going to help overall what we want to accomplish the day after the election? So I just want everybody to broaden their view, take down the temperature, listen to one another, understand that what's going on in your district and in your little world is not what's going on in somebody else's district and their little world. They're different. Different. And we have to respect each other. I remember Connor Lamb running in Pennsylvania for a congressional seat. I don't think he's in Congress any longer, but he ran in a very tough district and he was saying stuff that offended Democrats. He ran as a Democrat and the larger view was we need Conor Lamb to get elected cuz we need his vote in the House. And when we had it, it was really helpful to us.
- [40:13]
B
This is some of the Joe Manchin type of view of like you want a Democrat from West Virginia. Yeah, so.
- [40:19]
A
So we got to step back a little bit and we've got to understand, let's focus on the big picture, let's focus on what's most important and let's toughen our skins a little bit. Take a hit here and there. If a friend has to say something that you don't like necessarily, and even if there's a view that you don't like on an issue that's of great importance to you, but you gotta look
- [40:43]
B
at, so you're okay with that. You don't think he needs needs. He and others on Long island need to take a little more of the sort of Governor Hochul, Pat Ryan type of approach.
- [40:50]
A
No, no. I think what they need to do is get elected. Okay. I think I need Democrats getting elected. And that's what my focus is. That's always been what it's been. And that's where, you know, I've had difficulty with folks from the progressive end of the party, you know, who have faulted me at times, when I've had things to say and I disagree with them at times. And I'll say it, you know, and I'm not a shy person. I'll tell them because I'll be straight up up. I'll be straight up rather than beat around the Bush. That's not my kind of politics. But the same token, my focus, my laser focus is always about electing Democrats. If AOC is the best representative who's got the best chances of getting elected in her district, then I want aoc. And if it's Mamdani, it's Mamdani. And I'll work around the other stuff and I'll sit down with anybody and we'll talk issues and we'll come up with comprehensive. Because compromises are really what built this nation to begin with, and that's what sustains us. Without it, you know, we're lost because we'll just pick our sides and be fighting amongst each other and get nowhere. So I'm just saying to everybody in the party, now's the time. We've come together, work with each other. Yesterday is yesterday. Tomorrow is far more important.
- [42:01]
B
When Mayor Mamdani won his primary, as I mentioned, the governor came around and endorsed him. You declined to do that. Do you regret that at all? Have you worked on your relationship with him? I hear a tone in this conversation that's more of a sort of unifying message that you have about working with him while disagreeing with him on some things. But I feel like maybe you struck a harsher tone when he had first won that primary and obviously there was still a general election to unfold. But do you regret not endorsing him in that general election? Have you mended the relationship with him at all?
- [42:35]
A
Well, I don't regret it. I believed in it then. I think I did the right thing at that time. I disagreed with him on major issues and it had to do with his views on Israel and concerns about Israel itself. I didn't have a problem with his views on what was going on in Gaza. I think it was broader than that. I never felt. And in fact, I countered people who accused him of being an anti Semite. I never believed I. That. I don't believe it to this day, but I disagree with him on his views on Israel. I didn't agree with some of his policies related to socialism and some of the statements he made. Some things, you know, free buses if we can afford it. I was fine with the, you know, the grocery store concept of, you know, a publicly owned grocery store if it could work. You tried those things. Didn't bother me. So. And I never had a. And I don't believe I have a contentious relationship with Mayor Mamdani.
- [43:33]
B
It was never personal.
- [43:34]
A
Personal. I've always said I like him. And even in the statement where I didn't endorse him, if you recall my statement, it was. It was fairly positive about him. It's just I disagree with him. So I'm not Gonna, I'm not gonna endorse somebody that I disagree with. I'm not that kind of politician.
- [43:50]
B
Even if they're the Democratic nominee. I mean, you, you, you might, you might do that in, in mayoral races.
- [43:56]
A
I've never endorsed in a mayoral race. I did not endorse his opponent. Remember? I didn't.
- [44:00]
B
Sure, sure.
- [44:01]
A
No, I know. Yeah. You know, I'm just wondering as the
- [44:04]
B
state party chair, once someone becomes the Democratic nominee, how you think about that. Because it seems to me you almost always will get behind a Democratic nominee.
- [44:12]
A
Almost always you do. But there will be times that somebody comes across and the Democratic electorate votes for them. And as a, I'm sorry, I'm a principled person and you know, and I was, by the way, I was very, very prepared to leave my position as chair if folks felt that I should over that because I'm going to stick to the principle and it's rare that it happens. And remember something else, that was a race and there have been other circumstances where there's a race where it was pretty clear the Democrats going to win, it's going to be one Democrat or another. I didn't think Curtis Lewis had a chance. It was either going to be Cuomo or it's going to be Mamdani. So it wasn't like, like, you know, I was not endorsing a Democrat in a competitive race where against a Republican that, you know, there I think I would have to, you know, weigh different.
- [45:05]
B
That's interesting issues.
- [45:06]
A
So. And I've had that before and I've been criticized for it before and I'll take the criticism. Hey, look, I am who I am. I fight for this party, I work hard for the party, I work hard to elect Democrats. But I still maintain my principles and I'm just not going to, not going to compromise on that.
- [45:23]
B
And I think that's, that's something the mayor will often say about himself. So, you know, you can agree to disrespect that perhaps.
- [45:30]
A
Yeah, that's. I have to tell you, I respect the mayor in that and we do have a cordial relationship. We spoke after he was elected and won the primary. And I will tell you, you know, we've been communicating a couple of times since and I'm happy to meet with him and we look forward to doing that. We've out also both said we're going to do that and we will do that.
- [45:52]
B
Are there places you think he can be helpful outside New York City in this election cycle? That's one thing. Again with the Governor's sort of embrace of him. Obviously that's the strategy there is to combine efforts in New York City and get some of that turnout up. But I wonder, are there places you think he can be helpful in? I would assume not on Long island, but some of the polling is interesting. But, but are there any places you think the mayor should get outside the five boroughs and be sort of a Democratic celebrity that he is in this election cycle? Do you see any room for that?
- [46:26]
A
Well, I think that he's certainly someone who motivates progressive Democrats. So anywhere that we can find a constituency that will benefit, I think that's going to be a positive. I can't.
- [46:41]
B
We did see Pat Ryan welcome AOC right to his district a few times. I mean, again, different people, different politics, but you know, some similar things there.
- [46:49]
A
Yeah, it's interesting and I, and I have to say that, look, you know, I have to, I give that thought. I certainly don't think he's got to hide in New York City. He is very charismatic. His poll numbers, you know, are continually going up. And I think that's a positive. And I think, you know, you know, I think happened with Mayor Mamdani, which I think is a good thing. Thing is that before he got elected, a lot of people were really nervous and scared about what he was going to do when he became the mayor and then he became the mayor. And lo and behold, the city streets are safe and the subways you still can ride and things are okay. And people can disagree with this or disagree with that, but for the most part he's running the city very well. So I have to say that all of the fear mongering before he got elected amounted to a lot of nothing. And I think that's been beneficial to him. And it's to his credit.
- [47:42]
B
Last couple things for you and I'll let you go. I appreciate all the time. Jay Jacobs, Chair of the New York State Democratic Party. There's been a lot of question over time about the role of the Working Families Party. And then all of a sudden the DSA has sort of like sprinted past the WFP on the left, so to speak. I wonder how you see the role of the Working Families Party coming into this general election. How you're thinking about again the, the, the coordinated campaign when you have this. You know, they are their own party, they have their own ballot line, but they often are endorsing within Democratic primaries on the more progressive side. But again, we just saw in this New York City primary that the WFP didn't seem to have that much juice in some of these elections where they were at least on opposite sides from the dsa. How do you coordinate with them? How do you think about their role in the. In the sort of big tent of Democrats here? Or is that a relationship that. That's pretty icy right now?
- [48:41]
A
No, I don't find it icy at all. I happen to get along with the leadership there and have for years, frankly. I mean, we disagree at times. Listen at times. Some of the leaders called on me to resign. So, you know, but I don't. Again, I never take it personally. I understand their constituency, I understand what they have to do, and I understand where they would have to say something like that. So you don't take these things personally, but I find. Find the WFP to be very helpful and at times very effective. And we work with them. At times I disagree with them. And there are times, there are places I don't think that they should be engaging places like Long island, where Republicans will hit Democrats for being too far to the left. Bringing in the WFP may be just the wrong message at the moment, but in other areas we can use their help. Where it comes to bringing out the vote in progressive areas of New York City, I think they're tremendously helpful. And I think, by the way, some of the ideas that they articulate, I don't agree with all of them, but some of them, I think are really pretty much spot on. So I think as a leader in the Democratic Party, I think all leaders in our party, we have to start embracing each other, listening to each other, trying to craft ways to work together, not exclude each other. And that's what I've been working on and hope to continue to work on.
- [50:03]
B
Who are you most worried about in the congressional delegation here? You talked about, of course, the pickup opportunities potentially in a couple of races in 17 and 21. Is it simply the Long island seats that are the most vulnerable?
- [50:16]
A
I think we have to defend Josh Riley in his district, and we're going to focus on that. I think we have to certainly defend Suozzi and Gillen in Nassau county, my county. I think those are important races. You know, there are other races where, you know, we're not abandoning them either. You know that we're taking a good look at Pat Ryan may be in good shape, and he certainly is in very good shape. But, you know, we're watching that, watching Manion in his race. So, you know, we're keeping our eye
- [50:44]
B
out, we're watching the polls, the usual suspects right now. Yep. But, you know, but Riley and the two on Long island are.
- [50:51]
A
I think. I think that's where we've got to pay attention to. And then we've got to be working on 21, certainly, and 17. Those are areas that. And then, you know, we'll take a look around, we'll see what else is up. I've been hearing a lot of chatter, you know, about Lalota out in Suffolk county, the Republican as possibly being vulnerable. And so we're going to take a look at that. I don't think we should give him a pass. I think we should take a look at it. And if there are opportunities there, then I think we got a very strong candidate out there on the Democratic side. You know, he's got a great, good resume. So attractive resume, attractive candidates. I think we ought to take a look at that.
- [51:28]
B
And just in closing, give me your broad strokes on the sort of dynamics geographically, of the Hochul Blakeman race. You have another Republican nominee, like last time from Long island, but you have a very different dynamic right now where you have a Trump midterm. Democrats in New York seem to do quite a bit better when Donald Trump is in the White House. How are you sort of thinking about the regions and the geography of the state when it comes down to this gubernatorial race and the vote that's going to unfold? And are there key variables that you're thinking about in terms of how this race could be either tight or a much more comfortable race for you?
- [52:11]
A
Well, let's remember something. Everybody that's talking about 2022, they're guilty of trying to fight the last war. War. And this is a new war. It's a new environment. In that year, in 2022, it was Biden's first midterm election, and we had all of the baggage of the political environment on top of us. Never mind you were coming out of COVID and never mind you had the argument about bail reform, and crime was up all across the country. But the Republicans did a very good job of focusing it on bail reform as the cause of it, which it wasn't. But okay. And so. So it was a different war. Now you're in the political environment of a crazy Trump administration. I mean, it's absolutely crazy, some of these things. You can't describe it any other way than crazy. And that's going to be the overriding political environmental reality that we're dealing with in this election. As a Republican, there's a formula. You have to win upstate by 60, 40, you have to get Enough votes in the city of New York to match the percentage of vote that the city of New York has to the entire state. So if the city of New York is 32% of the whole statewide vote, a Republican has to get 32% of the vote in New York City to be viable. And then you have to win the suburbs certainly by at least 53 to 47 at a minimum. And I don't think Blakeman's going to do any of that, those things. Blakeman is a weak and flawed candidate who is running on a campaign that is supportive of a, I think an out of touch, incompetent, ineffective and harmful president.
- [53:56]
B
So are you ever surprised that Republicans are, I mean, we saw Mark Molinaro last in 2018 try to run a little bit more of the sort of moderate New York Republican playbook, and then it seems like Zeldin and now Blakeman have totally gone in the other direction. Are you surprised by that? I mean, I'm, I'm regularly a bit surprised that in New York State you don't see the Republicans try to put forward more of a moderate, center right candidate for governor. Does that surprise you or is it just everybody sort of recognizes that Trump's control over the party is so strong that, that that's what happens?
- [54:33]
A
I think that's what it is. I think people are in fear. You know, I think that Bruce Blakeman frankly understands he's not gonna win. I don't think Bruce thinks he's gonna win. I think he thinks that he's playing it now where maybe he'll get a position in the Trump administration if he speaks highly enough of Trump. That's what, that's how people get jobs there. You know, you don't have to have a resume of competence. All you have to do is butter the guy up and say nice things about him. And before you know it, you got a cabinet level position. Position. I think that's what he's doing. He wants that or a slot on Fox News where he could be a commentator. But I don't think Bruce Blakeman at all believes he's going to win this election. I don't think anybody in their right mind looking at this election, in this political environment thinks that somebody is going to beat the Democrat in a gubernatorial race in the state of New York where 50% of the registered vote is Democrat and about 25% is Republican. It's just not going to happen, not in this kind of a year. It could have happened four years ago, and I was nervous about it and I Said it way before the election. I said, we're going to have a tough time. And I had that impression because I saw what happened to Laura Curran, the incumbent county executive in Nassau county in 2021, who took a beating in a loss that she should never have been. Have lost over the political environment that was at the time. So what I'm just saying to you is I just don't see it happening for Bruce Blakeman and why folks are staying so tied to Trump. It's because they're scared. They want to hold on to power. And principle really is not something that enters into their thought. It's just I want to stay in power. I want to get power. And that's all it is. And it's just a shame. I'm surprised that some of the voters, you know, who see this stuff on the news. But, you know, it's interesting to me. I talk to voters and you know what I hear more often than not? You know, I don't read the news. I don't watch tv. I don't want to hear about it. Well, then you're forming an opinion without having any facts. I sure hope you go to a doctor who's more interested in looking at the patient before he makes the prescription
- [56:39]
B
and give me the one thing that's the thing this time around that will keep that, you know, could keep you up at night. What's the one variable? I hear your whole argument about why it's a favorable thing environment for Democrats in New York this cycle, but what is a variable that could keep you up at night? Could be a struggle for the Democrats across New York State?
- [57:01]
A
Well, I would always in the political environment, I always worry about what goes on internationally that might have an impact at times. I remember the Cuban Missile crisis changed everything in the Kennedy administration in 1962. So you never know. There's something that could be out there. The economy getting worse will benefit the Democrats. I'm not so sure the economy is going to get that much better to benefit the Republicans. I'm not that worried about it. You know, I just, you know, it's, it's the crazy, you know, outlier kind of, you know, event that occurs that could shake up the politics that I might think about. About. But I have to tell you, it doesn't keep me up at night because I think it's really highly unlikely.
- [57:45]
B
All right, Jay Jacobs, I really appreciate the time and thoughts. Thanks for joining me again and let's stay in touch.
- [57:51]
A
Thank you for having me.
- [57:52]
B
All right, be well.
- [57:53]
A
Take care now. Bye.
- [57:55]
B
Great.
- [57:55]
A
All right, take care. It.
- [58:36]
B
Sam.