New York State rarely elects governors from Upstate, especially not Western NY. The last elected Upstate Governor was either George Pataki or Franklin Roosevelt, depending on what you consider to be Upstate and both lived in the Metropolitan-area, just a short ride on the Metro North to New York City.
There is no law prohibiting Governor’s from hailing from Upstate but the population is heavily downstate, with nearly 7 in ten 10 New Yorkers residing in the metro area, which George Pataki and Roosevelt, along with all other governors in the past century hail from.
Western New York is far from New York City. Not just distance wise but culturally too. It’s becoming more and more Republican too, especially the rural areas. Kathy Houchul doesn’t hail from Buffalo or Niagara Falls, she was a town council member in Hamburg, and she went on to represent a fairly conservative suburban district in Congress with the endorsement of the NRA.
With political polarization these days I doubt many Western NYers will end up crossing party lines to vote for Houchul just because she is a local favorite. She will probably do as well as Cuomo did in Western NY but but not much better. But can she motivate people in New York City to vote for her in the numbers she needs? Or will many democrats just sit this one out, at best indifferent to that sort of conservative Upstater on the top of the ballot? After all, the New York State elections will be largely decided in the suburbs as that is where the most swing voters live.
New York City suburbs are getting bluer although recent off year elections see that trend slowing. Crime is up in the suburbs, especially property crime and nobody wants their hard earned property stolen or damaged. Hometown advantage and decades of knowledge of suburban politics for Lee Zeldin may help him better connect with voters fed up with incumbents in these inflationary times with high gas prices.
Should be about perfect for Independence Day Holiday 🎆
Heading out to the parents house mid-afternoon then I might hike Bennett Hill or maybe an undisclosed location in the evening for a nice hike and then to watch the evening’s fireworks. I probably could do a hike somewhere else or some fishing, but I’m kind of moving slow today. I bought some sparklers and fountains yesterday, but I won’t be shooting them off until a future weekend when I’m up in the wilderness and nobody cares.
Independence Day. Feels like … June 27th.
Sunny.
Light west wind increasing to 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon.
and
82 degrees
,52 max dew point,
8:38 sunset.
Tonight. Feels like … June 26th.
Partly cloudy.
West wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
and
60 degrees
,
5:22 sunrise.
Tuesday. Feels like … July 4th.
A chance of showers.
South wind 6 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
and
83 degrees
,64 max dew point,
8:37 sunset.
Tuesday Night. Muggy !
Showers and possibly a thunderstorm, mainly before 2am, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2am. Low around 65. South wind 6 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
and
65 degrees
,67 max dew point,
5:22 sunrise.
Wednesday. Feels like … June 19th.
A chance of showers, mainly before 8am. Mostly sunny.
North wind 7 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Looks like a really nice day ahead for the Independence Day Holiday. A nice day, unless of course you hate America and want it to rain and be cold. But for the rest us, should be a great day.
Sunny and 63 degrees in Delmar, NY. 🌞 Calm wind. The dew point is 52 degrees.
