Political elections for public offices in New York City
Since its creation in 1898, New York City has been a stronghold of the Democratic Party through the use of machine-style politics. The city as a whole has only been carried by a Republican in three presidential elections that being William Howard Taft in 1908, Warren G. Harding in 1920, and President Calvin Coolidge in 1924. The boroughs of Manhattan and Bronx were only carried by a Republican in 1920 and 1924. Brooklyn was carried by a Republican just six times (1896 through 1908, 1920, and 1924), while Queens has been carried by a Republican on the presidential level once since 1960 (in 1972). Meanwhile, Staten Island remains strongly Republican having been carried by a Democrat four times since 1940 (in 1964, 1996, 2000, and 2012).
As of 2024, New York City is split between 14 of the state's 26 congressional districts, covering the 3rd through 16th congressional districts. All but one are held by Democrats, the only exception is the Staten Island-based 11th district. Due almost entirely to the Democrats' near-total dominance at the local level, the Democrats have held a majority of the state's congressional seats since 1965.
Following the 2020 census, New York's 3rd district, which is primarily located in Nassau County, was redrawn to include portions of northeast Queens. In the subsequent 2022 election, George Santos defeated Robert Zimmerman to become the district's representative, joining Malliotakis as the only other Republican to represent any of the five boroughs in Congress.[5] However, Santos was expelled and replaced by Democrat Tom Suozzi in February 2024.
In the image above, the 2020 presidential results are displayed in New York City for each electoral precinct. The blue represents precincts won by Democrat Joe Biden, while precincts won by Republican Donald Trump are colored in red.
Political influence
The Flushing Remonstrance signed by colonists in 1657 is considered a precursor to the United States Constitution's provision on freedom of religion in the Bill of Rights. The signers protested the Dutch colonial authorities' persecution of Quakers in what is today the borough of Queens.
New York City politicians often exert influence outside the city in response to the city's diverse ethnic constituencies. For example, in 1984 the New York City Comptroller’s Office under the direction of then-Comptroller Harrison J. Goldin developed with Irish Nobel Peace laureate Seán MacBride the MacBride Principles, which call on companies operating in Northern Ireland to increase employment opportunities for members of underrepresented religious groups, ban the display of provocative sectarian emblems in the workplace, promote security for minority employees and abolish hiring criteria that discriminate based on religion or ethnicity. A 2006 report by the New York City Comptroller's Office found that 88 US and Canadian corporations operating in Northern Ireland had agreed to independent monitoring of their compliance with the MacBride Principles.[6]
Four of the top five zip codes in the United States for political contributions are in Manhattan. The top zip code, 10021 on the Upper East Side, generated the most money for the 2004 presidential campaigns of both George W. Bush and John Kerry.[7]
Operations
In 2008, New York City and London announced the Innovation Exchange Programme, in which the two cities will share best practices in government innovation. The program involves not only the formal exchange of ideas but also the transfer of personnel between the cities. It will focus on transparency and accountability, efficiency, transport, policy, education and skills, and environmental policy.[8]
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