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Majority Savers: Let's Support Bridget Fleming for New York-1! [1]

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Date: 2022-09-04

Candidate Background

Unlike the candidates last week, Bridget Fleming hasn’t cut an introductory video ad yet. Her site doesn’t have a lot on her biography either. Luckily, she was added to Red to Blue, and I can rely on that to fill in this section.

Fleming used to be a Manhattan Assistant District Attorney (think the TV show Law and Order). She managed the pro bono programs at the New York City Bar Association, which included helping the victims of 9/11.

She first ran for office by winning a seat on the Southampton Town Board, where she championed tax relief and environmental policy in one of the wealthiest areas of the United States.

She currently is on the Suffolk County Legislature, where she is deemed one of the most effective at her job in the entire county. She helped spearhead the COVID policy for the county from this position and successfully handled the aftermath of it.

This comment by LI Mike below fills in the gaps in her background thanks to a personal knowledge. I would highly recommend reading it!

Signature Issues

Bridget Fleming would likely be a pragmatic liberal if elected to Congress. Her issues page seems full of progressive priorities, but she also would be from a swing seat, which would mean shying away from tough votes on occasion. She would likely support Biden close to 100% of the time. On many issues I’ve covered constantly (health care, abortion, defending democracy) she would be reliable.

Tax Reform: New York is a state with high state and local taxes. Fleming would prioritize returning the SALT deduction to the tax code after it was capriciously stripped away by TFG and his tax deform. She would also make sure the wealthiest pay their fair share of taxes, a bold stand in the Hamptons.

Environmental Protection and Climate Change: Sea level rises have already caused flooding on parts of Long Island frequently, so Fleming can point to obvious effects of climate change. She is also concerned about water quality and the loss of wetlands and beaches. She has been an environmental champion for most of her life, and that will continue if elected to Congress.

Medicare and Social Security: Fleming has come out strongly against the Rick Scott plan to eliminate both programs after five years. She would be a vote to protect both programs from the ravages of the GQP. Finally, she would continue to promote Medicare negotiating drug prices with big pharma.

Elections History

Recent Elections —

2020 President: Joe Biden (D) 49.4%, TFG (R-inc) 49.2%

2020 House: Lee Zeldin (R-inc) 54.9%, Nancy Goroff (D) 45.1%

2022 Race Rating: Leans Republican

2022 PVI: R+4

This district has been a swing seat for a few decades now. Even through all of the swings, the Democratic Party held this district between 2002 and 2014 with former Rep. Tim Bishop. This is a district Al Gore won in 2000, but GW Bush narrowly won it in 2004. Obama carried the district twice narrowly. TFG easily carried the district twice. As I said, a very swingy district!

2014 heralded a new dawn for this district, and not in a way that our party liked. Rep. Lee Zeldin knocked off former Rep. Tim BIshop fairly comfortably. It was expected that this district would flip, but the margin was larger than expected. Bishop had been put on notice as his previous two races were very close. Yet he could not hold on during the 2014 red wave election.

This district would have been off the board under the old lines where TFG won the district easily. This court drawn map has returned this district to a swing seat once again. To add to the good chances of winning this district, Rep. Lee Zeldin has decided to end his political career by stupidly running for governor. That means it is an open seat, and those are much easier to flip than facing an incumbent. Bridget Fleming has a good chance of winning, even against her opponent Nick LaLota.

Political Tour of the District

Map of NY01, which reaches along the northern part of Long Island.

This district has some extremely red portions, as well as some very blue portions. It will be all about turnout in a coin flip district such as this one. Whomever gets more of their voters to show up will surely win this district. Dobbs is the wild card, as it may motivate people to turn out here.

Here’s where this race will be won in the 1st district.

The Hamptons: The eastern tip of Long Island is populated by some of the wealthiest and most exclusive zip codes in the US. They are likely very angry about Dobbs, thus it is important that Fleming do well in this portion of the district. Matching or surpassing Biden is key here.

The eastern tip of Long Island is populated by some of the wealthiest and most exclusive zip codes in the US. They are likely very angry about Dobbs, thus it is important that Fleming do well in this portion of the district. Matching or surpassing Biden is key here. Stony Brook: This college campus is growing every year, and it is critical for Fleming to get this college to turn out — especially young women irate at the abortion decision. Failure to get a huge student vote would mean a loss, because this district is that close in elections.

This college campus is growing every year, and it is critical for Fleming to get this college to turn out — especially young women irate at the abortion decision. Failure to get a huge student vote would mean a loss, because this district is that close in elections. Huntington Area: This area of Long Island usually supports Democratic candidates, and Fleming is going to have to run up the score here in order to win. TFG was able to narrow the margins quite a bit, so Fleming better court those swing voters in the area to her side.

Here’s where we need to keep the margins down, or we lose.

Smithtown Area: This area is the red anchor of the entire district, and it is pretty beet red. Fleming is going to have to make sure the margins in this area don’t get too out of hand or otherwise she can kiss her chances of winning in November goodbye.

This area is the red anchor of the entire district, and it is pretty beet red. Fleming is going to have to make sure the margins in this area don’t get too out of hand or otherwise she can kiss her chances of winning in November goodbye. Shoreham Area: East of Stony Brook is another patch of red turf along the northern shore of Long Island. Fleming needs to contest this area as there are blue and light red precincts here, but she shouldn’t rely on the area for her winning margin.

Activism — Help How You Can!

Bridget Fleming raised $362k for Quarter 2, which is okay for before a primary but certainly not enough to put herself on the map on Long Island. Her saving grace is that her opposition, Nick LaLota, only raised $123k during the same time period. It will be a race to see who can fill their campaign with cash first. Dark money will likely be at play here to make up any funding deficits.

Fleming also has a healthier amount of cash on hand, though it isn’t enough as of yet to ensure victory. She has a grand total of $516k to spend as of the end of June, while Nick LaLota only has $326k to spend, and he likely spent it all during his contested primary. Fleming needs donations to be competitive — add your donation to keep the House today!

DONATE TO BRIDGET FLEMING HERE

Fleming will need volunteers, just like every other campaign does. The work only increases the closer we get to election day, so if you are on Long Island, please sign up for one of the many competitive campaigns there. This one may be the most competitive! https://www.bridgetforcongress.com/get-involved is the link, and from there you can select “volunteer” as your option.

It seems that many challengers have about the same Twitter presence as Bridget Fleming does. She has approximately 4.2k followers, which is fair for a challenger but definitely could use a boost. Many of the tweets and threads recently have been counting down to primary day, so hopefully some variety comes soon!

x This is incredibly exciting. We just opened our new campaign office in #Southampton. Help us mobilize the East End. Only 84 days to the elections, help us flip NY-01 from red to blue! 🔗 https://t.co/cyyBsmRfn0 #TeamFleming #NY01 #NewYork #LongIsland #SuffolkCounty #VoteBlue pic.twitter.com/KKEWHFARbJ — Bridget Fleming (@bridgetmfleming) August 17, 2022

Fleming also has a presence on Facebook at bridgetforcongress, and on Instagram at bridgetforcongress. GO ahead and check them out and report back to here if you find something interesting!

In such a divided district such as New York’s 1st district, it will take a special campaign to pull off a win for either side. It remains to be seen if Bridget Fleming is that candidate that will succeed when so many over the past decade have failed. A better district and an open seat certainly help, which is why Majority Savers is choosing to highlight this race!

How to find all Majority Savers’ diaries:

To find all past and future diaries of the Majority Savers group, go to their Diaries List. (We suggest that you Bookmark that page.) The home page of the Majority Savers group is here.

Bridget Fleming for New York-1

Donate | Volunteer | Campaign | Events | FaceBook | Twitter | Instagram

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