State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie downplayed concerns Thursday over the growing influence of the Democratic Socialists of America after a string of primary victories by DSA-backed candidates ousted several Democratic incumbents.
The wins, including two in the state Senate and at least four in the State Assembly, will bring DSA ranks in the Legislature into the double digits as the movement builds on momentum from New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s victory last year.
Heastie sought to put the results into context while speaking with reporters at an unrelated event in Schenectady on Thursday, insisting that reporters in attendance were more concerned with how candidates identify than he is.
“We’ve done polling. The electorate is uneasy, and as much as they’re unhappy with Republicans, sometimes the party that’s in control here in the Legislature can kind of pay a price. I support incumbents, but some of the incumbents that lost, those were very tough districts and changing demographics in those districts,” he said.
Heastie, who has said he didn’t regret not doing more to help incumbent members of his conference who lost their races, telling reporters that voters made their point clear.
“I don’t believe in that,” he said. “If you look at the voting patterns in these districts, I’m not shocked at the outcome. I support incumbents, but these are changing communities and voters sometimes change who they want to have represent them.”
Asked whether he had concerns that the growing presence of DSA members in the Legislature could create headaches as he works to manage an unwieldy Democratic conference ranging from moderate members to progressives representing districts spanning the state from Midtown Manhattan to the North Country, Heastie shook his head.
“I’ve had no issues with the current DSA members. In my conversations with them, they seem excited and they’re looking forward to working with me and the conference,” he said. “The current DSA members I get along with. I get along with the current mayor of New York City, and I have been very helpful to him. There’s a time for politics and a time for governing.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul, who has her own momentum heading into November with a 20-point lead over Republican Bruce Blakeman in Thursday’s Siena poll, was likewise welcoming of the new faces amid questions about what their rise could mean for a moderate governor who has sought to manage her relationship with the party’s left flank.
“These are now my partners in government. This is who the voters want me to work with to be successful,” Hochul said at a news conference in Manhattan on Wednesday.
Outgoing Deputy Senate Majority Leader Mike Gianaris posted on X that Democratic leadership should embrace the outcome.
“The idea that Tuesday’s results hurt Dems or that the victors have something to be sorry about reeks of the top-down arrogance making our party unpopular,” he wrote. “There were elections. Some won and some lost. Listen to voters instead of wishing it wasn’t so. They’re trying to tell you something.”