It’s safe to say the midterms didn’t go well for New York Democrats. The State Senate nearly lost its supermajority, only keeping it after a recount. Though Kathy Hochul was elected to a full term as governor, she only narrowly defeated Republican challenger Lee Zeldin by single digits. The most glaring disaster was that four House seats were lost–including the seat of Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chair Sean Patrick Maloney.
As is often the case after a tough election, the blame game didn’t take long to get going. In the immediate aftermath, many fingers (especially progressive ones) pointed at State Party Chairman Jay Jacobs. Serving as party chair between 2009 and 2012 under Governor David Paterson, the 67-year-old politico’s current term began when Andrew Cuomo implored him to return to the post in 2019 after his reelection. And though Jacobs was one of the key figures who got the governor to step down, his tight association with the current chief executive in Albany has been a source of ire–and his survival.
1,000 Democrats (again, mostly progressives) signed a letter just days after the election calling for Jacobs to go. It tracks, since his time at the helm of the party has been one of constant sparring with its more left-wing faction.
Isolating this previous election cycle, Jacobs did everything he could to stagnate any non-moderate force. In what was seen as an unusual move, he backed rivals to incumbent Democrats in various primaries, which he said was motivated by them “speaking on behalf of what I’d refer to as the far-left.” He was a fierce enemy of the Working Families Party, the main vehicle for labor unions and progressive advocates. In perhaps one of his most blatant moves against those further to the left, financially supported efforts to unseat Jamaal Bowman, a member of “The Squad” in Congress (and who won reelection by 38 points).
Through it all, though, the multimillionaire and eager donor that is Jacobs has maintained a strong relationship with the person who matters most: Governor Hochul. Though she didn’t cruise to victory in November, Jacobs was an early ally who largely cleared the primary field from a revived Cuomo or more left-leaning challenger. It could be argued that making it easy for Hochul to win was vital in her eventual general election victory. Despite mixed feelings within Hochul’s orbit, Jacobs has a close ally in Hochul advisor Adam Sullivan, and she only supported Jacobs even immediately following the election.
“I think he [Jacobs] did a great job as chair, and he continues as chair. We’re not changing anything,” she said.
So long as Jacobs has the backing of New York’s most powerful politician, he should not be in any serious danger. He has support among the moderates in the party who point to the unpopularity of progressive politics and the supermajority in the State Senate. Even his progressive critics admit that the removal of the party chair at this juncture would lead to even worse squabbling from within. All indications point to him running the show in 2024 despite a chorus of progressives wanting him gone; what that would mean in a tense presidential election year is anyone’s guess.
