NYcapitol

An unexpected winner in the 2020 elections looks to be… *checks notes*… New York taxpayers? It’s hard to believe, but then again it is 2020.

New York saw some key election results that may give some hope to the state’s beleaguered taxpayers.

In recent sessions, a consolidated Democrat-controlled state legislature, along with Governor Cuomo in his third term, moved more costly tax-and-spend policies like the Green New Deal through Albany.

With a few wins in 2020, Democrats would grab a supermajority in the state legislature. Policies like socialized medicine, wealth and investment taxes, and more economy-destroying fantasy proposals seemed right around the corner. Even policies too radical for Governor Cuomo would become reality. Add to that, redistricting for the state is coming up as well.

On the verge of irrelevance, Republicans performed well in the state, regaining ground in the state senate.

In district 3, Alexis Weik leads Monica Martinez, In district 5, Edmund Smyth leads Jim Gaughran, in district 6, Dennis Dunne leads Kevin Thomas, in district 22, Vito Bruno leads Andrew Gounardes, in district 38, William Weber leads Elijah Reichlin-Melnick, in district 40, Rob Astorino leads Pete Harckham, in district 42, Mike Martucci leads Jen Metzger.

These would all represent flips from Democrat to Republican. With days left before outstanding mail-in votes are counted, these races could change. Still, Democrats will fall short of the 42 senators needed for a supermajority barring a miracle, and Republicans expect to gain 4-to-6 seats on net. There are 63 seats total in the New York Senate, Democrats held 40 seats before the election.

New York Republicans also look to have held onto all their congressional seats, though reporting for the 3rd district is very low (according to the New York Times), and they will add NY-11, Nicole Malliotakis, and likely NY-22, Claudia Tenney.  

Policies like the expansive Green New Deal legislation passed last year can’t be undone, so New York taxpayers will continue to be subject to costly, job-killing left wing experiments. Taxes will remain high. People will continue to leave for greener pastures. Still, it was about to get a lot worse, and a surprising election likely prevents the worst case scenario from unfolding… for now.