New York State is unique when it comes to running for office and what ballot lines candidates appear.
It’s called Fusion Voting. Meaning, you can be a registered Republican and still appear on the ballot on minor party lines, even though you’re not a member of that political party.
I’ll use myself as an example.
Right now in Erie County, New York, where I ran for county-wide office in 2012, there are approximately 280,878 registered Democrats, a whopping 44.3% of the electorate. Just like New York State, it’s a dark blue county, with 162,394 registered Republicans, or 25.6% of all voters.
It’s almost impossible for the GOP to run county-wide and win, especially in Presidential election years, where there’s massive Democratic turnout.
Keep in mind, I ran as a Republican in 2012 when Barack Obama was at the top of the ticket. Family, friends, donors, and many in the GOP told me not to run. It was impossible, based on the sheer volume of Democrats, that a member of the Grand Old Party just could not win.
Those doubts were temporarily enforced when I was talking about that first election with my now late mother, Arlene Mychajliw.
She seemed a touch nervous, borderline tense when talking to me one day about the race. I thought she had the same doubts many others did, and quite frankly, I didn’t blame anyone. Think about it: if every Democrat showed up and voted for the candidate in their own party, that person is automatically up by 45%. All they would need is 5% of the rest of the electorate plus one more vote to win a two-way race.
So I asked my Mom, a lifelong and devoted Democrat, “Hey, what’s up?”
She gave me a concerned look and finally came clean.
“I never voted for a Republican in my entire life. I don’t know if I can now, even though you’re my son and I love you.”
I thought, “Good Lord, if my own mother isn’t voting for me, I’m in trouble.”
That day, she got a short lesson in Fusion voting, that she could vote for me on the Conservative or the now-defunct Independence lines.
“OH THANK GOD SWEETHEART,” she said, as my Mom realized she could vote for her son while at the same time remaining true to her vow to never, ever vote for a Republican.
My late mother was a “Kennedy Democrat.” Moderate. Pro-life, Pro-Labor, union to the core, and fought hard for the working man and woman.
If she were alive today, she would be an outcast in today’s Democratic Party that’s been hijacked by radical extremists like AOC, Bernie Sanders, and in New York City, Commie Mamdani.
The Democratic Party of today supports open borders, fights for illegal immigrants, despises law enforcement, wants to defund the police, embraces Socialism, and pushes radical policies like putting hard-core criminals back on the streets with little or no bail.
The South Shore Press took a deep dive into the issue of bail reform in New York State with team coverage over the arrest and quick release of Castillo Garcia. He’s the Guatemalan national accused of selling gummies laced with deadly drugs to kids within the William Floyd School District.
Despite Garcia facing four felonies, the soft-on-crime, Democrat sponsored “no bail” laws meant he walked free after his arrest.
If my mother were alive and we chatted about the absurdity of “no bail” laws in New York, no question, she would be outraged. While she still wouldn’t vote for Republican candidates, there’s zero chance Arlene Mychajliw or moderate Democrats would be fine with any violent criminal not being held accountable.
The Democratic Party is at a crossroads here in New York State. It sure looks like they’re barreling towards the radical road of Socialism and Communism, with Zohran Mamdani as its next leader, one who is on his way to victory as Big Apple’s next Mayor.
God help us all.
To those moderate and common-sense Democrats like my Mom, why don’t you give the GOP a chance? Our values are your values: fund police, secure the border, keep criminals behind bars where they belong, lower taxes, responsible government spending, and supporting policies that keep communities and families safe and secure.
Who knows, maybe in 2026 you’ll cast your ballot for the Republican candidate for Governor? And yes, more than likely, you’ll be able to do so using another political party line, just like Arlene Mychajliw did.