Episode Details

This CUNY Forum is the first of a 3-part series on Politics, Civics, Voting and the upcoming Presidential Election. The topic is “All Politics is Local—Until It Isn’t: How ‘Not In My Back Yard’ Became Something More.”

Democrat Tom Suozzi’s recent win in the special election for the 3rd Congressional District seat, (after Republican Rep. George Santos was ousted by his own party), flips the seat, and continues a trend across the country of voters reacting to national platforms in local elections. The trend is not as prominent in New York City where Republicans are gaining a foothold in predominately Asian communities on the strength of their messaging on crime and many other neighborhoods on migrant policy.

In this CUNY Forum, we explore how messaging is playing a key role in the way voters see the upcoming presidential elections and how the phrase, mostly associated with Former Speaker of the House, Tip ’Oneill, “All politics is local,” is being transformed by Former President Trump’s continued dominance within his party, foreign policy, and high-profile issues like Roe v. Wade.

Will Republican voters steer clear of local Republican candidates due to their association with Trump? Will Democratic voters punish President Biden and other Democrats for their stances on foreign policy, while local municipalities like NYC suffer budget cuts to essential services? Are we looking at a tipping point (no pun intended) for each party or another small bump in the road for America’s historically two-party system?

Has “Not in my back yard,” become something more?

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