Why Democrats Swept Key Races and Republicans Lost Ground

0:00 Speaker 1 Sunday morning. With us today is Governor David Patterson. And, well, Governor, we had an election that was not expected in my eyes. It was a complete romp by the Democrats. Give us your pulse of the situation. Tell us what you think happened in New York City, New York State, and tell us what you think happened in the whole country.

0:22 Speaker 2 I think that this particular election, John, was not as much a referendum on the candidates as as it was on the policies. And I think our inability to get out of Iran, our inability to bring prices down, and the like, is the reason that Republicans.

0:43 Speaker 3 Suffered so greatly. I was shocked, John.

0:48 Speaker 2 We were sitting in the studio doing the election returns, and I looked at my watch and it said.

0:54 Speaker 3 9.01 and 35 seconds, and that’s when.

0:58 Speaker 2 Somebody said Blakeman lost, and I couldn’t believe it. I thought that the race between Blakeman and Hochul would be closer. But I think what happened to Blakeman goes all the way back to the beginning of his campaign. where he did these commercials where he’s embracing the president and yelling his name out and doing all these things. And while

1:21 that is the kind of thing you might do at a rally, it’s not the kind of thing you do on TV when you know that the person that you’re embracing lost in New York in 2016, 2020, and 2024.

1:34 So he can’t carry you to victory. And I hope that Bruce understands that because he’s a friend of mine. He and I have been friends ever since we worked together trying to bring the casino to Long Island, but the sands pulled out. I don’t think you’ve heard the last of Bruce Blakeman. I think he learned a lot

1:52 this year, and I think he’s going to be either a formidable opponent for someone in the next couple of years, or he’s going to have a major position in D.C.

2:02 Speaker 1 Now, Governor Lee Zeldin, who was also... I think he was also Jewish, and Bruce Blakeman is Jewish, and... Lee Zeldin lost by only three, four points, and Bruce Blakeman lost by 20 points.

2:19 Speaker 2 I think it was the wisdom of the Hochul campaign to keep slamming Blakeman with his relationship with Trump. I think that’s what pushed so many people away. Also, in 2022... It Zeldin really played it cool the whole way and snuck up and almost stole the election from Governor Hochul.

2:42 So I think she was more than ready for a Republican opponent in 2026.

2:48 Speaker 1 Understood. Well, the national election, was it basically an anti-Trump movement?

2:57 Speaker 2 I don’t think it was totally an anti-Trump movement. I think Trump made some mistakes himself. He said, imagine I’m on the ballot.

3:04 Speaker 3 Well, they did.

3:05 Speaker 2 They imagined he was on the ballot and they voted against him. But I do think that there were some really big mistakes. I don’t understand why they permitted the late Lindsey Graham, who’s a tremendous senator and leader. But his sister just didn’t have that. type of training that she had. And she went ahead and lost. They lost

3:26 in North Carolina. They lost in places they never lost before, Texas and Tennessee and other places like that. So that tells me it wasn’t as much the candidates. It was just the referendum on policy and the fear that too many Americans have that they They’re not making enough money.

3:48 Some of the things that Tom Swasey said to you on this program just recently. And I think that that was what actually did it. People had kind of had enough of it. And Trump, you know, kind of telling them that everything is great, even though, you know, we’ve had some of the problems that we’ve had.

4:08 Speaker 3 I think he ran out of patience with the public. Yeah.

4:14 Speaker 1 Especially Governor Abbott losing in Texas. Shocking. It was shocking. Was it a Hispanic vote that was upset with all the deportations?

4:25 Speaker 2 Well, the Hispanic vote was basically up from where it was... four years ago, and especially ten years ago, I don’t think it was much about deportation, but I think it was about the Hispanic community in Texas letting the rest of the country know that we not only are Texans, but we are Texans with lineage, and we want to

4:49 be treated like everyone else.

4:51 Speaker 1 Understood. Anything else you want to tell the American people?

4:54 Speaker 2 Well, John, you know, it was just... A shocking kind of situation.

5:00 Speaker 3 I couldn’t believe it actually happened.

5:02 Speaker 2 But I remember the night that Ronald Reagan won all the states in 1984. And I thought, well, I’m glad I am here now tonight, not where we were back in 1984.

5:16 Speaker 1 Well, Governor David Patterson, thank you for coming on this Sunday morning. And we’ll continue to talk.

5:22 Speaker 3 I hope so.