Despite the lack of a "Red Wave" in the midterm elections, Republicans are poised to take over the House thanks to Democratic missteps in New York. At least 4 eminently winnable districts were taken by Republicans. In part, the NY State Supreme court is to blame for banning a Democratic drawn redistricting map which probably would have led to an easier path for donkey candidates.
More truoubling is the performance of some candidates who took their reelection for granted. I'm looking at you Sean Patrick Maloney. After pushing progressive congressman Mondaire Jones out of his redrawn district, Maloney proceeded to alienate the grassroots organizers in the district and spent a couple of the final weeks of the campaign "fundraising" in Europe. He was outworked by his opponent who won in a Biden plus 5 district.
Another part of the problem is the political composition of NY. The state is essentially Alabama with New York City dropped into the middle. Birmingham's suburbs are probably more liberal than my congressional district where the execrable Elise Stefanik won by 20 points over a fairly conservative Democrat. Still, without Maloney's miscues, we might have made the difference in holding the House.
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