Victories shows upward momentum of progressive ideals over politics as usual
Albany, NY — In response to blowout victories by progressives in New York’s Democratic primary elections on June 23, Stanley Fritz, Political Director of Citizen Action of New York, released the following statement:
“As we wait for absentee ballots to be counted and winners to officially be called, what we’re seeing is a slow but promising dismantling of the old paradigm. The rise in Democratic insurgents shows what a multiracial, multigenerational movement that centers everyday people can accomplish.
Tuesday’s democratic primary saw progressive candidates take the lead in key Democratic races, like Jamaal Bowman’s historic blowout and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s landslide victory in New York City, and Demond Meeks’ early breakout results in Rochester.
We also saw major successes in protecting our progressive allies in the Legislature, including Yuh-Line Niou and Diana Richardson, who have been staunch advocates for housing justice. Both candidates had decisive victories, showing that New Yorkers will stand by their champions. Possibly the biggest takeaway from Election Day is that the status quo is not good enough for the people of our state or nation, and collectively, we made that loud and clear at the polls on Tuesday.
Well-wishing Democrats are not what we need. Citizen Action’s slate of endorsed candidates represent the most progressive leaders who share our worldview, and we’re proud to see so many of them come out on top. The uprisings we are seeing all over the country speak to the mandate that AOC referenced.
As an organization, we entered this election with a clear vision of our shared goals to get dark money out of politics and fight for transformational change. We will continue to organize in communities across New York to continue building.”