There are only a handful of tight races in the November 2024 election that have clearly superior candidates: New York’s 17 district has been incredible well-served by incumbent Republican Mike Lawler.
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY17)
Lawler is one of the most bipartisan members of congress, drafting numerous pieces of legislation with a number of Democrats including Ritchie Torres (D-NY) and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ). He has fought aggressively for his constituents and for actual peace in the Middle East. He has been ranked as a leader by the non-partisan group GovTracks.
GovTracks ranking of Mike Lawler as a middle-of-the-road Congressional leader
This is in sharp contrast to his competitor Mondaire Jones who has been running around New York State to find a district to run in. He lost badly in the last cycle when he decided he ran in Manhattan’s Chelsea district.
When Jones did last serve in Congress, he was ranked as a highly partisan left-wing radical. He was not considered a leader and drafted little legislation.
GovTracks scored Mondaire Jones legislative record as far left-wing and with little leadership credentials
Vote for bipartisan Mike Lawler, a leader in Congress and fighter for New York.
New York State is putting forward a proposal on the November ballot to change the state’s constitution. Specifically, it adds categories of “protected classes” and enables judges to override them if they feel that a situation is warranted.
Concurrent Resolution of the Senate and Assemblyproposing an amendment to section 11 of article 1 of the constitution, in relation to equal protection
Section 1. Resolved (if the Assembly concur), That section 11 of article 1 of the constitution be amended to read as follows:
§ 11. a.No person shall be denied the equal protection of the laws of this state or any subdivision thereof. No person shall, because of race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, creed [or], religion, or sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy,be subjected to any discrimination in [his or her] theircivil rights by any other person or by any firm, corporation, or institution, or by the state or any agency or subdivision of the state, pursuant to law.
b. Nothing in this section shall invalidate or prevent the adoption of any law, regulation, program, or practice that is designed to prevent or dismantle discrimination on the basis of a characteristic listed in this section, nor shall any characteristic listed in this section be interpreted to interfere with, limit, or deny the civil rights of any person based upon any other characteristic identified in this section.
§ 2. Resolved (if the Assembly concur), That the foregoing amendment be submitted to the people for approval at the general election to be held in the year 2024 in accordance with the provisions of the election law.
Explanation – Matter in underscored is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted.
New York State is a Democratic super-majority trifecta: The Democratic Party controls the office of governor and both chambers of the state legislature, of Assembly (100 to 48) and Senate (42-21). Democrats are using their muscle to push forward a controversial proposal which sounds benign but gives judges wide latitude to advance preferred classes of people over others.
Advocates for the constitutional amendment like Governor Hochul argue that its about abortion rights. Yet many have written articles suggesting that such argument is absurd as New York already amended the constitution to permit an abortion until the moment of birth for any reason. Asian New Yorkers see the proposition as “reverse racism” which will kick qualified Asian students out of better schools in favor of preferred minorities. Others argue that this is a “pernicious” attempt to “throw out the New York human rights act,” in favor of pushing DEI everywhere (diversity, equity and inclusion).
Religious institutions are alarmed by the proposition and urging voters to vote ‘no.’
The president of Houghton University, a 141-year-old Christian university, said “the proposed amendments to the state constitution would adversely affect our institution, our students and our employees. The most significant of those adverse effects are related to parental rights, women’s athletics and religious liberty…. Proposal 1 and other similar inclusion measures overstep constitutional religious liberty protections when they prevent people of faith from freely exercising their religion. It is not inclusive to force people of faith to believe or behave in a manner that is inconsistent with their religious beliefs, to force them to raise their children in a manner that contradicts their religious beliefs, or for the state to attempt to raise their children in a manner that contradicts their religious beliefs while hiding state actions from their parents.”
Jewish institutions are similarly against the proposition, with Agudath Israel releasing a statement on October 15 urging everyone to reject the amendment to the constitution.
The Empire Center produced a detailed and balanced analysis of equal rights laws and the ramification of Prop 1. It concluded that the language in this proposition is so vague that it will pit one class of protected persons against another, spur constant litigation and give judges tremendous leeway to create policy of their personal preferences. It suggested that New Yorkers vote ‘no’ and “hold out for an equal rights amendment that solves more problems than it creates.”
The Deep Blue super-majority trifecta of New York State government is attempting to upend protections that have existed since 1938 to enforce DEI mandates in every aspect of New Yorker’s day-to-day lives. Vote ‘no’ to Proposition 1 and send a clear message that New Yorkers reject the government pitting citizens against each other.
Many Americans are disillusioned by the state of antisemitism today. Not only is it rampant on college campuses but alive and well in U.S. Congress from people like Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar and Marjorie Taylor Greene. Jewish Americans are considering buying a home in Israel, and perhaps relocate for all or part of the year.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MN), Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) on November 30, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Before they do, they should relocate within the United States.
Most American Jews live in deep blue or red states like New York, New Jersey, Florida, California and Illinois. Before moving to Israel, they should change their place of residence to one of the swing states like Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona or Nevada. That will enable the person to submit an absentee ballot in a state where the vote could actually impact the outcome of a presidential election, tipping the electoral college towards candidates which favor western values.
Even as the world watches the tragedy in the Middle East, many Jewish Americans have greater fear for their futures in the United States and are moving to a war zone. While abroad, they can continue to help America by making sure their votes will matter by first relocating to Philadelphia, Atlanta, Phoenix or Las Vegas.
American citizens in 43 states will have no say on the presidential election in November 2024. Seven “purple” states – Arizona (11), Georgia (16), Michigan (15), Nevada (6), North Carolina (16), Pennsylvania (19) and Wisconsin (10) – with a collective total of 93 electoral votes, will ultimately decide the election. All of the other states are deeply Democratic or Republican so an individual’s vote there will not change anything, despite how vocal or passionately they feel about the candidates.
It does not mean that there is nothing for the vast majority of Americans to do.
For those who are moderate and do not want to see the country continue its divisive path towards the fringes, it is incumbent to try to help separate the party of Congress from that of the presidency. That means, that as Democratic nominee Vice President Harris continues to gain momentum and looks to secure the White House, people should try to ensure that Republicans are the majority in the House and/or Senate to avoid a Democratic administration tacking to the socialist-jihadi extreme of the party.
House of Representatives
The current split in the House of Representatives is 221 Republicans and 213 Democrats. Of these, fifteen are running for a different office (12 of which are Democrats), fourteen are retiring (8 of whom are Democrats) and three are resigning (1 Democrat).
Roll Call identified ten of the most contested races in the House of Representatives; I have added one more, NY17. In every race, the pro-Israel bipartisan lobbying group AIPAC endorsed the incumbent, of which seven are Republican. Those races are (incumbent listed first, AIPAC endorsed in bold, Republicans endorsed by AIPAC in red):
NY22: Brandon Williams (R) v. John Mannion (D)
CA13: John Duarte (R) v. Adam Gray (D)
NY4: Anthony D’Esposito (R) v. Laura Gillen (D)
WA3: Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D) v. Joe Kent (R)
NC1: Don Davis (D) v. Laurie Buckhout (R)
OR5: Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R) v. Janelle Bynum (D)
NE2: Don Bacon (R) v. Tony Vargas (D)
AK: Mary Peltola (D) v. Nick Begich (R)
CA27: Mike Garcia (R) v. George Whitesides (D)
PA8: Matt Cartwright (D) v. Rob Bresnahan (R)
NY17: Mike Lawler (R) v. Mondaire Jones (D)
Senate
The Senate is currently divided with 51 Democrats and 49 Republicans. According to Bloomberg, “of the 34 Senate elections currently scheduled for 2024, Democrats and allied Independents are the defending party in 23 contests, while the Republicans are defending just 11 seats. Democrats Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Jon Tester of Montana, and Sherrod Brown of Ohio are all up for re-election in states President Joe Biden lost in 2020. Trump won all 10 states where Republicans are defending Senate seats, all but two of them by double-digit percentage-point margins. Nebraska will have two races in 2024, including a special election triggered by the resignation of Ben Sasse (R).”
According to Real Clear Polling, there are seven toss up races in the Senate in 2024. They are:
Arizona: [open] Ruben Gallego (D) v. Kari Lake (R)
Florida: Rick Scott (R) v. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D)
Maryland: [open] Larry Hogan (R) v. Angela Alsobrooks (D)
Michigan: [open] Elissa Slotkin (D) v. Mike Rogers (R)
In summary, the top ten races people should get behind to stem the anti-Israel and antisemitic tide are: Bacon (NE2); Chavez-DeRemer (OR5); D’Esposito (NY4); Duarte (CA13); Garcia (CA27); Lawler (NY17); Williams (NY22); and in the Senate, Moreno (OH), Rogers (MI) and Scott (FL).
Runner-up to the top ten is also a somewhat tight race in NJ7 where incumbent Tom Kean (R) is running against Sue Altman (D).
To be clear, I am not suggesting that these individuals have great records overall; I am saying that a balanced Congress is the best antidote for extremist policies, and donating or volunteering for these candidates may provide a path for a more moderate administration.
One can donate to the candidates via the AIPACPAC portal. The two non-AIPAC endorsed candidates should be contacted directly at Mike Rogers and Bernie Moreno. Volunteering should also be done directly at the person’s website. Early action is highly recommended, as it takes time to build the local momentum needed to win these races.
Now that Rep. George Santos is out of Congress, the current most hated representative in New York State is Jamaal Bowman of New York’s 16th District. Censured by a bipartisan Congress for pulling a fire alarm to delay a vote and then lying about it, his antics have long drawn the condemnation of Democrats and Republicans.
He is being challenged by popular Westchester County Executive George Latimer, who comfortably out-raised Bowman in the period ended December 31, 2023, raising $1.4 million with 73% coming from inside the district, while Bowman raised less than half that amount with a paltry 9% from inside the district. Bowman is so unpopular among his constituents, that he has resorted to teaming up with antisemitic money-raising machine Rep. Rashida Tlaib FROM MICHIGAN who is running unopposed, so can transfer all of her externally raised funds to Bowman.
The race is considered among the most watched in the country.
Siena College conducted a poll of likely New York voters from February 12-14, 2024 on a variety of issues. By every category of race, religion and age, New Yorkers were more pessimistic about the country than the state. That says a lot, because Democrats, Republicans and Independents all think that things in New York are getting worse, with Jews being the most angered about the situation in the state.
And it’s not about crime, as Jews were less likely to fear crime than other religious groups. Latinos are the most worried about being attacked.
According to the poll, when it comes to people’s representative in Congress, Democrats and Republicans are, not surprisingly, inclined to vote for the member of their own party. Independents are more likely to vote for the Republican over the Democrat (41% to 30%). The same holds true for people in the suburbs (40% to 37%) and upstate (42% to 40%). A significant percentage of suburban voters – like those in NY-16 – chose “someone else”, perhaps indicating a strong preference to oust their current Congressperson, beyond strict party consideration.
These results are problematic for Bowman. His district includes a large percentage of Latinos who worry about crime and are against his call to “Defund the Police.” Further, more than 2,000 Republicans and independents switched party to Democrats by the February 14 deadline to vote in the primary to be held on June 25, presumably to vote for Latimer.
Bowman now seems to be banking – literally – on Black and Muslim voters and donors.
In a transparent effort to buy votes, Bowman sponsored a resolution to hand $14 TRILLION to Black Americans, or about $333,000 for every Black American.
As part of his alliance with antisemite Rashida Tlaib, Bowman has taken the stage at fundraisers with a variety of antisemites and anti-Zionists including Nada Khader, Norman Finkelstein and several people who support the butchers of the political-terrorist group Hamas.
Rep. Jamaal Bowman and Rep. Rashida Tlaib shout “Free Palestine” before crowd after the October 7 massacre and mass rape of Israelis by Palestinian Arabs
Perhaps Bowman is looking at a silver-lining for him in the Siena poll which shows liberals more in favor of supporting military aid to Ukraine than to Israel, in N.Y. state, overall. The only place that the trend breaks is in the suburbs and among Jews, a constituent Bowman tossed into the garbage long ago.
Bowman has openly declared war on Jews across America and in his district, with the hope that the beleaguered minority-minority will be drowned by the masses and Gulf petrodollars, as he stokes a campaign based on hatred and divisiveness.
The insidious jihad is growing, and must be turned back now before it overwhelms America.
As society moves from a Bell to a Barbell Curve, with politics becoming dominated by the extremes rather than the center, it is important for all people over 18 years old to register to vote. Once upon a time, when the country was led by moderates, people could afford to stay home as the difference between a center-right or center-left candidate was pretty modest.
No longer.
In deep red and deep blue districts, extremists backed by the likes of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) are being elected to the office. They secure their positions in the PRIMARIES when many people don’t come out to vote, thinking that elections principally happen in November.
In New York State this year, primaries are happening on August 23, 2022, with early voting beginning on August 13. This second primary (one for statewide positions happened several weeks ago) is because of the late redistricting in the state. New district boundaries brought various politicians in and out of their historic zones, forcing a delay in the vote.
JULY 29, 2022 IS THE LAST DAY TO REGISTER TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS UPCOMING ELECTION FOR YOUR CONGRESSPERSON. You can download the New York State voter registration form, and mail it in before July 29 to help keep extremists out of power.
An example of the extremists in New York State can be found in NY-16, now headed by Rep. Jamaal Bowman who came to power with the backing of the DSA. His newly redrawn district covers southern Westchester County.
First One Through 