‘A new day for New York’: In progressive stronghold, Democrats channel midterm messages with coronation for state’s first woman governor

The state’s Democratic nominating convention tests the party’s big-tent agenda as it fights for its political future against ‘existential’ threats to democracy, Alex Woodward reports

Former Democratic presidential candidate endorsed New York Governor Kathy Hochul at the state’s Democratic Party nominating convention on 17 February. (Getty Images)

Within less than a year, New York Democrats heralded the state’s first woman governor, gave her a resounding endorsement to a full term, welcomed a new New York City mayor, and approved newly drawn political district lines that give Democrats an edge in upcoming elections.

Governor Kathy Hochul’s ascent is a remarkable turn from this time last year, before Andrew Cuomo’s resignation in the wake of sexual harassment allegations and a looming impeachment investigation from state legislators.

Within a few months, Governor Hochul has resurrected an office mired in controversy, abandoned Mr Cuomo’s antagonistic relationship with state legislators, neutralised primary opponents in the governor’s race, and secured the backing of party powerbrokers.

“It’s a new day for New York,” she announced moments before a ballroom stage inside the Sheraton New York Times Square was covered in confetti.

On Thursday, the state’s Democratic leaders, one after the other, gave their endorsements to the governor during the party’s 2022 nominating convention for upcoming elections.

Democratic Party leaders have rallied members to unite against a common challenge – Donald Trump and the aftermath of his administration – rather than entertain primary challenges or in-party debate among moderates and progressives as they head into critical midterm elections.

“Make no mistake, we are all competitive … That competitive spirit must be harnessed not against other Democrats, but the other side, against Republicans,” Governor Hochul said. “What is the greatest threat to the Republican party? Their greatest nightmare? A united Democratic Party … When it comes to election time, we cannot allow ourselves to be divided.”

Former New York senator and presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, a figure who still wields significant influence within the party, introduced Ms Hochul after she received the party’s official nomination to the governor’s office, where she is expected to serve a full term after her likely election this year.

Ms Hochul faced a primary challenge from progressive candidate and current New York City public advocate Jumaane Williams, who secured an endorsement from the Working Families Party, a critical pillar of the state’s progressive politics.

He received 12.6 per cent of the vote among party delegates to determine whether he appears on the ballot. Governor Hochul received more than 85 per cent.

Mr Williams told reporters on Thursday that the party establishment’s greatest concern is “incumbent protection” rather than advancing progressive candidates.

“They want to swap their elite for the Republican elite,” he said. “They’ve ignored pockets of New Yorkers for a very long time.”

Protesters demand New York Governor Kathy Hochul support eviction protections during her remarks to the state Democratic Party nominating convention on 17 February. (AFP via Getty Images)

The debates among moderates and progressives – playing out nationwide – reflect ideological divides and questions about how to wield their political power, and whether party leaders have the political and moral courage to advance their agendas.

Democratic officials stress that the party is strengthened by its ideological diversity, while progressive challengers argue they have been squeezed out to preserve a rigid power structure that protects a status quo.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said “family must be honest with each other.”

“We may agree that action must be taken, but we may not always agree on what action to take,” he said. “We are so impatient for change that we sometimes direct our passion at each other. That is why we join together today. We join together today to chart a common course.”

But Democrats’ big-tent message falls under the long shadows of Trump and his allies, the Capitol insurrection, conspiracy theories and misinformation campaigns wielded as partisan tools, and what Democratic officials have called “existential threats” to democracy across the US.

“It’s one thing to have political disagreements,” Ms Clinton said. “But it is an entirely different thing altogether to lose a shared sense of truth, facts and reality itself.”

She added: “When the Republican Party officially embraces violent insurrection as legitimate political discourse, when storming the Capitol, assaulting police officers and trying to overturn the election are being normalised, we are in uncharted territory.”

Outside the convention, a crowd of environmental justice protesters called on the governor to strengthen a statewide proposal to ban gas hookups in new construction.

Inside, as the governor took the podium to receive the party’s nomination, a group of demonstrators – some holding signs naming her “evictor in chief” – called on Ms Hochul to expand the Excluded Workers Fund and support a Good Cause Eviction bill, two progressive causes that have galvanised progressive organisers in the state.

In his remarks to the convention on Thursday, US Rep Hakeem Jeffries listed the party’s legacy priorities – labour organising, healthcare, “ending the era of voter suppression once and for all” – which democratic crises in the aftermath of January 6 have endangered.

“Let’s go out there and make sure Democrats maintain control of the people’s House … and Republicans stay in the dog house,” he said.

Mr Jeffries, along with US Reps Josh Gottheimer and Terri Sewell, have also launched Team Blue PAC, a new political action committee aimed at protecting incumbent candidates from progressive left challengers in Democratic primaries.

“I wish our party’s leadership would fight as hard to protect our majority in Congress as they do to stop women of color from trying to represent our communities,” said Rana Abdelhamid, who is running against incumbent US Rep Carolyn Maloney in the Democratic primary for New York’s 12th congressional district in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens.

Justice Democrats, a progressive political action committee that campaigns for new progressive legislators, asked why the party establishment “works harder to fight against working class nurses, bartenders, community organizers, and principals running for office than making sure Republicans don’t take back the House.”

In her remarks, Ms Clinton warned against dsitractions from “the latest culture war nonsense, or some new right-wing lie on Fox or Facebook,” with an explicit warning to members of her party against indulging in online arguments.

“Don’t let the extremes of any or either side throw us off course,” she said. “Focus on the solutions that matter to voters, not the slogans that only matter on Twitter.”

With upcoming elections, “New York and this country have an important choice to make,” she said, as she mapped out the chief, polarising differences between the parties and what Democrats have vowed to protect.

Republicans offer “nothing on childcare, nothing on paid leave, nothing to invest in schools or make college more affordable,” she said.

“They’ll ban books but do nothing about guns” or voting rights while “making it easier for corporations to bust unions,” she added.

“That’s why I intend to help elect Democrats up and down the ticket this November,” she said. “We are stronger together.”