For all the drama around the 2020 election, one thing isn’t at stake: Democratic control of New York’s state legislature. But while the party isn’t in danger of losing its grip on Albany, Tuesday’s election could bring subtle shifts in a political landscape where Gov. Andrew Cuomo often calls the shots. Democrats could gain a veto-proof majority by winning just two more seats in the 63-seat Senate, which the party won in 2018 after decades of Republican control. New York would join California, Hawaii and Rhode Island as states where Democrats control the governor’s office and two-thirds of the seats in both legislative chambers. A veto-proof majority could change the dynamics of a state government where the powerful governor sets the legislative agenda and hasn’t shied from using his veto pen, or the threat of it, to check lawmakers who drift too far from his policy priorities. Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie could try to score bigger concessions from the state’s top Democrat, force his hand on contentious issues or simply pass bills without worrying about a veto. But whether Democrats, including a small but growing minority of socialist and left-wing lawmakers, would actually use that veto-proof majority to push the centrist Cuomo further left is unclear. Cuomo enjoys strong approval ratings. Lawmakers have granted him emergency powers to lead the state’s COVID-19 response. His spokesman notes he’s frequently out campaigning for Democrats. “Cuomo has been working overtime to elect these candidates up-and-down the ballot,” spokesman Rich Azzopardi said. “If he was scared of a veto-proof majority he wouldn’t be doing that.” Azzopardi said Cuomo looks forward to a bolstered Democratic conference: “We’ve accomplished a lot together for the State of New York and I can’t think of anything the legislature would pass that we wouldn’t sign.” In some parts of the state, battles between Republicans and Democrats over legislative seats have focused on recent criminal justice reforms that made it easier for defendants to get out of jail while awaiting trial and a debate over whether that had any impact on public safety. The Legislature and governor rolled back parts of a sweeping 2019 law ending cash bail for most non-violent crimes following outcry from law enforcement groups, but its core provisions remain intact. In some parts of the state, gun violence increased this year amid the pandemic lockdowns and civil unrest over police brutality. A political action committee called Safe Together New York, with over $4 million in backing from billionaire cosmetics executive Ronald Lauder, has been supporting Republicans calling for an anti-crime crackdown. Lauder, Estée Lauder’s son, hopes to flip seats on more moderate Long Island and suburban Westchester County. There’s virtually no public polling on legislative races. But it’s clear Republicans in many places face an uphill battle in a state where Democratic voters outnumber them 2 to 1. Recent political losses likely fueled several senators’ decisions against running for re-election this year. Democrats have a registration edge in at least six state senate districts now represented by Republicans who are leaving office. Republican Sen. Sue Serino faces a costly rematch with Democratic challenger Karen Smythe, who she narrowly defeated in their Hudson Valley district in 2018. In the Assembly, where Democrats already have a comfortable two-thirds majority, Republicans are hoping […]

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