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Trump appeals to underprivileged New York voters to help GOP

Vaseline September 19, 2024

Former President Donald Trump will campaign on Long Island, New York, today. The chances of him winning the state are slim, but it is crucial to maintaining the Republican Party’s control of the House of Representatives.

The Queens-born Republican presidential candidate made a plea to New York voters on Truth Social Tuesday afternoon, saying: “Hundreds of thousands of immigrants, crime at record highs, terrorists pouring in, inflation that eats your heart out — WHAT THE HELL DO YOU HAVE TO LOSE? VOTE TRUMP!”

New York traditionally votes with the Democratic Party — and they made no exception for their hometown candidate in 2016 or 2020. Though born and raised in New York City, he was resoundingly rejected by voters in his home state in every election.

But Trump’s campaign stop on Wednesday, his second since the latest failed assassination attempt last weekend, is more important for lower-tier Republicans contesting the election in New York state.

Several Republican-controlled seats in the House of Representatives are vulnerable this year, including Reps. Anthony D’Esposito of Long Island, Mike Lawler and Marc Molinaro of the Hudson Valley, and Brandon Williams of Syracuse in upstate New York. Each faces highly contested races in the November election.

The Trump campaign’s choice to visit the NYC suburb of Nassau County is no coincidence either; the suburb has become a Republican stronghold over the past two years. Rising crime in neighboring Manhattan during the COVID-19 pandemic has seen Long Islanders increasingly turn to the Republican Party for answers, which has promised to act as a safety net against New York’s liberal policies.

The strategy worked.

In 2022, Republicans won all four congressional seats on Long Island and dominated local elections in Nassau County, where Wednesday’s meeting is being held.

In closing his post, Trump made several promises to New Yorkers: “I will work with the Democratic governor and mayor, and make sure the funding is there to bring New York State back to levels it hasn’t seen in 50 years. People are running, maybe we’ll get them to ‘run back!'”

Trump’s Long Island rally coincides with his original sentencing date in the Manhattan hush-money case. New York State Judge Juan Merchan was scheduled to sentence him on Sept. 18, but sentencing has been postponed until after the general election on Nov. 26.

Melissa Cruz is an elections reporter covering voter access issues for the USA TODAY Network. You can reach her at [email protected] or on X, formerly Twitter, at @MelissaWrites22.