How a resurgent GOP gained key wins in New York—and cost Democrats the whole game

The MoJo Daily newsletter, Monday through Friday. [View in browser]( [Mother Jones Daily Newsletter](     December 6, 2022 [I know all eyes are on Georgia today.]( But I'd like to take a few steps to talk about what happened in New York. A critical question remains: How the hell did a Trump-supporting, election-denying Republican—who wanted Jared Kushner to win the Nobel Prize—come dangerously close to winning the governorship in the reliably blue state? There have been a few post-mortems attempting to understand how a resurgent GOP gained key wins in New York. [Some have blamed New York media outlets;]( [others have pointed to Andrew Cuomo](. But the truth is that several factors created the perfect storm that gave way to a stunning steak of victories for New York's GOP—and very well likely cost Democrats the whole House of Representatives. Here today is my colleague Noah Lanard's [excellent look at the three major components](—party dysfunction, tabloid hellscapes, and crime—that contributed to the GOP's resurgence in the Empire State. His feature, an effort to unpack why New York was such an outlier in the midterms—is at once fascinating and a much-needed lesson for Democrats. Now let's leave politics altogether for a brief moment; I need to celebrate [a clip I literally cannot stop watching](. I've sent it to multiple group chats and have forced colleagues into discussing it with me. [Have I hyped it up too much? Am I the only idiot who can't stop laughing at this?]( Probably, and yes, probably. But here I am, paying it forward to you readers because we all deserve to laugh out loud. Last night, my husband had to nearly cover my mouth while I laughed so hard during dinner last night. So, enjoy. [Here it is](. Goodnight and good luck. —Inae Oh Advertisement [ACLU]( [Top Story] Top Story MOTHER JONES SPONSORED CONTENT BY ACLU   Stop Book Bans with the ACLU Freedom of expression protects our right to read, learn and share ideas free from viewpoint-based censorship—but recent legislative efforts across the country threaten that right. Book bans are unconstitutional—and we need your support to fight back. [Are you with us?]( [Trending] [Dem dysfunction, tabloid hellscapes, crime: How New York almost went red]( BY NOAH LANARD   [How a fake document could help the Supreme Court diminish our democracy]( BY PEMA LEVY   [How the trucking industry became the dystopian frontier of workplace surveillance]( BY RUQAIYAH ZAROOK   [DeSantis officials finally tell us what "woke" means]( BY ABIGAIL WEINBERG Advertisement [ACLU]( [Special Feature] [Special Feature]( [How the New York State Democratic party lost its grassroots—and then the US House]( Inside the party's fight to figure out what the hell happened in the 2022 midterms. BY MAGGIE DUFFY [Fiercely Independent] Support from readers allows Mother Jones to do journalism that doesn't just follow the pack. [Donate]( Did you enjoy this newsletter? Help us out by [forwarding]( it to a friend or sharing it on [Facebook]( and [Twitter](. [Mother Jones]( [Donate]( [Donate Monthly]( [Subscribe]( This message was sent to {EMAIL}. To change the messages you receive from us, you can [edit your email preferences]( or [unsubscribe from all mailings.]( For advertising opportunities see our online [media kit.]( Were you forwarded this email? [Sign up for Mother Jones' newsletters today.]( [www.MotherJones.com]( PO Box 8539, Big Sandy, TX 75755