Suffolk Closeup: President Trump and the Midterm Elections

President Trump has been a big factor in midterm election campaigns in the nation including in the contest for New York governor. Trump’s name won’t be on the ballot, but Democratic candidates, in political ads and debates, have been emphasizing support of Trump by their Republican opponents.

“You don’t have the spine to stand up to Donald Trump,” declared Democratic New York Governor Kathy Hochul to challenger Republican Bruce Blakeman in their debate this month as she seeks re-election.

“Trump. Trump. Trump. That’s all you can say,” said Blakeman, the Nassau County executive.

“Well, you love him,” responded Hochul.

Trump has not avoided acknowledging his seeking influence in this election. Indeed, in swings through the country he has called on voters to “pretend that I’m on the ballot.”

The situation has created what a Washington Post article has described as a “dilemma” for the GOP. The headline of a piece in August was: “Trump stumps in N.Y. suburbs, highlighting a dilemma for his party.”

It told of Trump having “traveled to Long Island” to speak at a Blakeman rally “amid uncertainty about what role Trump will play in the midterm election campaign as he grapples with approval numbers significantly worse than nearly every other modern president at this point in their tenures and growing backlash within his own party.”

The New York Times ran a front-page story early last week beginning: “President Trump continued to sell himself as the Republican Party’s savior as he crisscrossed the county in recent days making it clear in words and sheer presence that this midterm election is about him.”

But, it said, Trump’s “approval rating sits around 37 percent, the lowest of his presidency.” [The next day a Reuters poll had it at 31 percent.] The article cited a just conducted Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos survey “which found that…66 percent of voters said Mr. Trump is using the presidency to enrich himself.” Further, it cited a Fox News poll this month that “found that government corruption ranked first among voters’ concerns, followed by inflation, gas prices, government leadership and health care.”

Will there be a Trump impact in balloting November 3 in Suffolk County?

Trump has been relatively popular in Suffolk County in past runs for president.

An early rally in Suffolk County in 2016 at which Trump spoke attracted national media attention. The New Yorker magazine ran a lengthy article headed “Donald Trump in Patchogue.”

In it, John Jay LaValle, then Suffolk Republican chairman, said: “Look, you may not like the tone and content of what Trump says, but you have to appreciate that he’s coming straight at people. He’s the single most important candidate to run in modern history. He’s being provocative.”

Trump was considered by some GOP leaders as particularly well-prepared to run for president at a time in which performance on TV is important for political candidates because of his having hosted “The Apprentice” show on TV from 2004 to 2015. And the following year he was in Patchogue running for the nation’s top government office.