This is the year local politics went national
Democrat Kwani O'Pharrow, left, and Republican Joseph Cardinale are running for election in Assembly District 11. Credit: James Escher
A couple of weeks before Election Day, Kimberly Jean-Pierre, who is retiring from the Assembly, brought preferred successor Democrat Kwani O'Pharrow to New Birth Christian Church on Wyandanch Avenue in West Babylon.
The church, with which Jean-Pierre has long worked, welcomes a large Haitian community. But on this visit, she said, something was different. There was a new vigor among the hundreds in attendance. The false tale of Haitian migrants eating pets in Springfield, Ohio, elevated to prominence by Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance and echoed by his running mate, former President Donald Trump, had resonated.
"It energized folks in the Haitian community, people who previously felt like their vote didn't matter," said Jean-Pierre, whose parents migrated from Haiti.
Turnout on Tuesday was high; so was the fervor.
But as voters lined up to have their say in the 11th Assembly District where O'Pharrow and Republican Joseph Cardinale jostled for the open seat in what appeared to be an incredibly tight race, it was clear the "all politics is local" mantra did not apply. Voters there, as elsewhere, viewed even the most local of races, ones that traditionally might focus on sewers, roads, parks or schools, through a national filter. The national rhetoric, along with issues like immigration, abortion and the economy, dominated.
The 11th District sits mostly in Suffolk County, with a sliver in Nassau. It has changed considerably since Jean-Pierre took office a decade ago, when most residents were white and there were only pockets of diversity. Now, it's a "majority-minority" district, with Black residents making up 24% and Hispanic residents 26%, according to the Census Bureau.
Two years ago, Jean-Pierre eked out a victory. So when she announced her retirement this year, the district quickly became one to watch as Republicans sought to expand their presence in Albany. Both O'Pharrow and Cardinale are retired members of the NYPD. Both have deep community ties. Both talk about the needs of veterans and seniors.
But little of that seemed to matter Tuesday. From Lindenhurst to Wyandanch, from Amityville to Copiague, a steady stream of voters — Democrats, Republicans and the all-important "blanks" — said big, familiar issues topped their list: immigration, the economy, abortion.
Trump, too, loomed large.
"The rhetoric only further proves why I feel he's unfit to be considered as our president," said Wheatley Heights resident Demetrius Quintyne, 21, who voted for the first time alongside his mom, Jacqueline.
Quintyne, like many voters, said while he knew local issues were important, he was not as familiar with the local candidates on the ballot. Local issues, he said, were overshadowed by the "broader perspective."
On that, Republicans and Democrats agreed.
"The flooding of the national talk drowns out everything else," said Lindenhurst resident Bryan Liers, 32, who supported Trump and Republicans down the line, including Cardinale. Inflation, he said, was his top concern.
As for the local candidates?
"It's unfortunate because they affect our local community and we don't know a drop about them. I wish it wasn't so."
Amityville resident Polly Henry said she voted with her 30-year-old daughter in mind, with "women's rights" front and center. She noted, too, that she came to the U.S. from Jamaica as an undocumented immigrant, became a citizen in 2009, and has worked alongside other immigrants.
Henry voted for O'Pharrow, but said even her local choice wasn't made for local reasons.
"It's about the country," she said.
Columnist Randi F. Marshall's opinions are her own.
Randi Marshall is a member of the Newsday editorial board.