Republicans tout election victories in New York as bright spot

Republicans won a slew of elections Tuesday in New York, where GOP candidates successfully ran on issues such as illegal immigration, zoning and crime.

The GOP’s election victories in the Empire State were a bright spot after losses in states such as Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky, where Democrats ran on the abortion issue to win.

Republican officials boasted Wednesday about victories in blue-state New York, crediting the immigrant crisis and crime wave for their massive wins on Long Island and stunning upset in the Bronx.

“Every state is a border state with Joe Biden’s open-border policies,” said Will Reinert, press secretary for the National Republican Congressional Committee. “Nowhere was that more apparent than in New York last night as the migrant and crime crises promise to be a one-two punch against Democrats’ dreams of retaking GOP-held swing seats.”

Republicans also say the wins in New York show that their 2022 House victories were not an aberration and that the GOP in New York is well prepared for the 2024 election cycle.

Democrats, whose campaigns on abortion rights succeeded in other states Tuesday, have teed up similar ballot initiatives and campaign ads in New York in 2024.

Republicans gained total control of Long Island for the first time in at least 20 years after flipping the Suffolk County executive seat in a landslide victory.

In nearby Nassau County, the GOP held its majority in the county Legislature, and now governs all the cities, towns and county positions for the first time since the early 1970s.

These are significant wins: Nassau and Suffolk counties have large populations that dwarf other metropolitan areas, such as Boston.

In New York City, Republican Kristy Marmorato won a City Council seat in the East Bronx. Republicans had not held a City Council seat in the Bronx for more than 40 years. Ms. Marmorato’s win gives Republicans a seventh seat on New York’s 51-seat City Council.