Local elections on Long Island could offer clues about how the city’s suburbs could vote in next year’s congressional elections.
Races for Suffolk County executive and North Hempstead supervisor have been the most prominent, though the races are expected to have low turnout because they are happening in a year without federal or statewide candidates on the ballot.
“Keeping an eye on Long Island, which has been a little counterintuitive in its election outcomes the last few years with a mix of national and local issues, gives you a chance to see what’s playing in a typical suburb that’s not unlike the ones in Pennsylvania, Michigan, North Carolina, Virginia, Arizona, Nevada and other places that both parties believe are at play,” said Lawrence Levy, executive dean of the National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra University on Long Island.
Democrats lost in all four of Long Island’s congressional districts last year and have dedicated significant resources to the region for 2024. Republicans, bolstering campaigns with a focus on local issues such as crime and migrants, are aiming to hold onto the seats next year.
Statewide, New Yorkers will be voting on two ballot measures. One would remove the debt limit placed on small city school districts under the state Constitution. The second would extend an exclusion from the debt limit for sewage projects.
Related Story: In Long Island’s 2023 Elections, All Politics Are Local
